HJH's Thesis

Documentation

2009-04-09T15:26:00.000-07:00

Trying to execute the program by sticks.

Opening

Viewers

News

Open Close 開開關關 from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

Open Close Viewer Documentation from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

Structure

2009-03-14T16:15:00.001-07:00

Everyday I went to the foundation lab to work on my dress form. I really love the open space there. I like the equipments, the workers, the making noises, and the big tables there.

Last night there was only me and the technician in the lab. Coke, some cashew, and the sawing machine put me into a good mood. He said I was the only student in the school. Ha! I wish there are more people working there.

Today, after peer review, I finished two refined wood pieces as the supporters for the dress form, and attached the bottom one to the pole. Things went slowly but still made some progress. Now I am stuck with how to drill the second hole on the right position on the second piece.

As you see here, the pole is supposed to go through two pieces of wood inside of the dress form vertically. And those two pieces of wood should place at the right angle to fit the dress form perfectly. It is so hard to locate the second hole precisely.

I also spent time on figuring out how I am going to put all stuff together at the exhibition.
Here is my order to install my project:
1. Make the door set attached to the dress form.
2. Set up the system. make sure it runs well.
3. Put computer and arduino board into the dress form.
4. Attach the upper wood board to the waist.
5. Put dress form onto the lower wood board which attached to the stand.

Tomorrow, I will try to drill the hole.
And shoot videos again.

Base

2009-03-09T14:55:00.001-07:00

Body

2009-03-02T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have drawn many sketches for the human sculpture with different posture for weeks. However, because of different posture has different emotional and symbolic meaning, I limited myself to a simplest one - standing. I found that with this posture, the equal system of the interaction will be stronger. A viewer will be at a similar height with the sculpture which will look like just a common figure standing there. It will be a relaxing standing rather than a tense one. And it will be a blurry shape rather then detailed one.

Erik reminded me of one of my precedents - to create sculptures with weird postures for viewers to interact with in an awkward position. He gave me this sketching when I was drawing a real-size blueprint for my sculpture. Which made me hesitate about my standing man. Should I make it look more interesting or just keep it simple considering the limited time?

This is how I draw the blueprint on the ground. I printed a human body from web for prpotion and scale reference, and drew my sketch by hand and ruler.

While I was hesitating, Jia made this wire man for me. She said, why don't you make it flexible so you can always change its posture.

So I used this prototyping Erik's sketch.

Then I played with it for a while, trying different positions like laying on the ground, squating down, sitting...ect. As a result, I like this best. Its arms create a boundary between closeness and separation. People want to see the video clearly will have to get into its arms.

Saturday noon, I went to a location recommended by a fine art student who is making a human sculpture painting in the foundation lab. Last weekend I didn't find the secondhand market, but this time I found a lot of paper-made mannequins!!! There are two men selling those special mannequins on the street on 9Ave between 37th St. and 38th St. Price differs from$45 to $100 depending on how big it is. I was looking for a full body large one to put my laptop inside, which need at least 7 1/2" wide at its chest. And I do not want ones that with breasts or pectorals. Although they do have a great amount of collection, most of which are too skinny or too fat women. Finally I found a 2/3 body with enough depth. It costs $40 after negotiation. (Full body is $80.)

Then I brought it back to the lab with other materials, like wood pole and wood boards for making a stand.

I finished the base on Sunday. It is about 14"*14.5".

And put all elements I have on the sketch. The scale matches well.

Then I moved to the foundation lab to cut a door hole on the mannequin's chest.
Before cutting, I drilled some holes for cutting more easily.

I felt like I was killing or forcing someone to open his chest for me while I was sawing.

Done.

Then I sanded the hole to justify it to match the door.

It does not fit well because of the curve of the human's chest. So I have to make it up later. Jia suggested to put the whole door set inside its chest to make it look more natural.

From the bottom view. I put the eee pc into its chest. It fits perfectly. But to put it inside, I have to rotate and lean the laptop while getting through its waist.

Doorway leading to the screen.

Next step, I have to get this flexible mini webcam at K mart.
And finalize the interaction system.
Make the body stand.
Get chicken wire. Build legs and arms and head...
Shoot videos again with green screen next Monday.

Question:
1. What kind of appearance of the sculpture will make a viewer feel more interested and reflect himself onto it? Just a half body or a full body? White and pink? or wood and paper mache's natural color?
2. How can I make the stand connect to my figure body.
3. How can I set a friendly operation for others to switch it on and off easily? Or can the application run through 3 weeks?

Glendon's recipe

2009-02-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

Having troubles of connecting door joint with a potentiometer well, I asked for Glendon's advice. He just gave it a peek and drew a instruction for me.

Instead of plug a straight iron wire into the pot of potentiometer, he suggested me to bend the wire and inlay it into a horizontal indentation. So it has a anchor point to move and a full control of rotation. I did the same to the other side of wire to connect it with door joint tightly.

I cut the potentiometer to less then 3/4 inch so I can hide it into a step at th bottom of the door case. Now the angel of the potentiometer changes identically with the door angel. And I tested it with my laptop. The angel of this wood ready-made door is only 90 degrees, which made me have to change my original code to show videos completely . But I am thinking how I can make it open wider to let the interaction longer. I also tested it with a led installed in the doorway to add some light while the video switches into a hidden camera view.

Production - open door open mind from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

This is a ideal view of a mini camera which I haven't plugged into the door way. Now I am using a plug-in cam on my laptop.

Manual, box, eee pc. I am trying to install OF and Arduino into this tiny computer.

Test view. I found that the screen is smaller then my doorway exit. So I have to redo the door way again.

2D to 3D

2009-02-22T22:19:00.001-08:00

3"*7" panel door and two sets of door knob and keys.
$ 11 + $ 4
They are tiny but not cheap.

The box for install eee pc and a doorway.
I went to 9th floor's fabrication lab to make this. Thanks to the help of Glendon and those people at the lab. I found that the worker at the sawing room is very friendly to show you how to use those machine. And a professor from product design also taught me how to assemble and screw correctly and effectively. Yeah~ I love making physical things in that kind of environment where everyone is working with hands, objects, and loud music. It was fun.
Those pieces are cut from a shelf wood board got from HomeDepot $ 10.

Assembling the door with a doorway. The doorway is made of card boards costing $ 4.

There will be a fake perspective created by a trapezoid door way.

Trying to hook up a potentiometer to the door.
Pot from Digikey costs $2.

I decided to as a step at the bottom of the door to cover the pot.

Front view.

Back view.

Sketch of Box

2009-02-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Today I went to Home depot as my plan and got a wood board for $10. Mr. Glendon promised to help me to cut it into pieces on this Tuesday night. Above is the box blueprint with length and width noted. I am still thinking about whether I should put the setting vertically or not to put into a human figure.

There is another issue with the door setting. I am still figuring out how to fit a potentiometer into the door frame, how thick the frame is supposed to be, and how to make it look natural...

And I also thought about the human figure sculpture a little bit. I found more parts of mannequins on line. Perhaps I can get some to build it sooner.

I am thinking maybe I can build my sculpture on this kind of stand to make it free-standing and more durable.
However, making a human sculpture lets me feel that the original meaning has been distorted. Putting the interaction into a sculpture would draw a line between the viewer and the object which makes the viewer thinks it is another person's door that he is opening and closing. But what I want he to experience is to treat the door as his own exit toward outside world, and to feel like he is deep inside a room or a body.

How can I make he feel that way? Create a sealed and dark space? Or make a fake wall with this tiny door on it as the only exit? Then how about the human characteristic? Make a wall with sunk shape like a human figure? Or just draw a blurry shadow of human on it?

Because Taipei Cultural Center is not open to dig any hole into the wall and ground, I have to make a completely independent thing that is durable to interact with and easy for the manager to operate the computer everyday as well. So I would like to make it smaller and flexible to place. If it is a human sculpture, I have to make sure it is stable and stands firmly. If it is a fake wall, I have to make it harmless to the environment. It is very difficult for me on both the form and the implement parts...

Keep A Diary

2009-02-14T20:55:00.000-08:00

To improve my writing, I decide to fallow Ethan's suggestion - keep a diary of my making and thinking process. Today is my material hunting day for my box.

Before I build anything big, I would like to make a durable box containing my core installation. Which should have a panel door outside, a door way and a computer inside, and a built-in potentiometer connected to an aduino board plugged to the computer. I think as long as the box functions well, I can apply it to any kind of form, such as putting into a hallowed sculpture or placing behind a fake wall. A portable box with the interaction working is my current aim.
So to build the box, I have to 1)design the structure. 2)get the materials. 3)assemble and test it. I have already made a paper-made one, so there is a sketch of how it constructs in my mind. But the scale and details of organizing inner parts of it is depending on what kind of materials and devices I am going to use. Therefore, I started with material researching.

After considering several ways of setting a screen and a computer together with my installation. I finally made a decision of purchasing a EEE PC recommended by Adam. It costs a lot, but I guess it's the most efficient way to do it. So if there is nothing wrong, I will get the small laptop on Wednesday. Here is the product.

ASUS Eee PC900HA 8.9inches Netbook $300

I went to Tiny Doll House to search for available parts as well.

The store is a wonderful place for me to visit, because I can actually take those doll house kits as my architechtual reference. I was concerning about how I can make a durable tiny door with what kind of wood, and how to modify the hardware. But when I saw those half-ready-made tiny building materials, I released. It inspired me to color my piece as well. I hope I can have a pink door as Doraemon's Anywhere Door on a white box at the end. However, I need to make it functional first then beautiful later. As a result, I got a traditional 6 panel door and two door nobs. They are so small, exquisite, and suitable that I feel so happy that someone has made them for my project.

What's more, I also ordered some potentiometers. I ordered the one that with a plastic rather then metal nob. It is easier to drill and connect with other objects.

POT 50K OHM 9MM VERT PLA BUSHING

So for tomorrow, I am going to pick some wood materials at Home Depot. And draw my blueprint for the box with precise scale according to today's results.

By the way, I went to a New York based chocolate store on the way home. It's called Jacqes Torres. There are many people purchasing gifts for their lovers. So did I. But due to my stomach illness, I can only appreciate those colorful chocolate in different kind of flavor with out trying any of them. Looking at those giant machines making chocolates, I hope someday I can make a project eatable.

Form revolution

2009-02-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

For make viewers understand it is about human mental connection, I decide to create a human figure to put the installation into its chest.

Interaction

2009-02-09T19:04:00.000-08:00

Untitled from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

A working and updated prototype.

Prototype

2008-12-08T12:16:00.000-08:00

I am making an interactive installation to present the ideal mode of human connection and social interaction by taking doors as a metaphor of access from one's mind to another's.
By its participants closing and opening doors, I would like to signify that doors of minds must be open for a person to have connection with another. And by switching the perspective, I want to indicate the importance of seeing from other’s point of view.

An ideal human connection is constructed by two open minds that can understand each other, which is hard to get and maintain in reality. It is why I would like to create a piece demonstrating daily human connection with ideal interaction to make people think and to analyze how they react to it.

Main concept:

Doors = access to one's mind

True human connection = mental connection

The ideal mental connection = two (minds)doors open at the same time. (Self-enclosure + social exchange theory)

" The more you want to know another, the more you have to show and share with."

The ideal social interaction needs people have more understanding of each other.

Video mode switches to real-time video = subjective becomes objective = seeing how others see you.

Fallowing sketch is the plan for the door located on 10th floor.

Potentiomater + Openframework from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

Small Model of my installation from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

Next :

To modify the code to make doors' angle match each other
To make preset video switch to real-time video from camera randomly.
Shoot more footages.

Question:
1. How to make users know this is about human connection ?
2. What kind of content will make the theme more obvious?
3. What can users take away from my piece? ( memory of experiencing it??)
4. How can I make this into a piece that users can interact with real users(skype?? is is too complex??)?

Concept+Scenario updated

2008-12-01T12:10:00.001-08:00

Concept/
I am making an interactive installation about human connection through doors opening and closing.

A video of different people opening and closing a door would play simultaneously to user's opening and closing a physical door at the end of a fake doorway behind it. Every time a user open the door, he/she will meet a person acting simultaneously in front of him/her. The more he opens the door, the more he/she can see the other. As human daily interaction, the more people want to know others, the more they have to show and share with. I try to connect people and make people think about interpersonal relationship through this simple and common behavior.

Scenario/
Jude is a cdt student walking on the way to the lab on 10th floor as usual. When he passes by the door at the end of a hall way, he hears knocking sounds from it and gets surprised. He turns back to the door and finds there is a door viewer on it. He looks around but dose not see anyone around. Then the door knocks again. So he peeks into the door viewer to see what is making the noise. Unexpectedly, there is a woman looking at him very closely, which makes him shocked. Although it is a little creepy to him, he believes that it must be someone playing tricks and testing sensors behind the door.

Then he tries to open the door to see what's behind it. However, when he opens the door, he sees a hall way leading to another projected door which is opening by the woman. He looks at her looking at him. She waves toward him and keeps looking at his way. Jude feels so strange to have a stranger looking at each other for a while although she is not a real person. But he still waves back to see if something will happen like other motion detecting pieces. But the woman is just looking at him. Then he finds that when he moves the door, the woman also moves hers. He closes the door and peeks through the crack. The woman also peeks over there simutaneously. Therefore, he decides to close the door and open again. However, there is another stranger instead of the woman opening the door with him. And surprisingly, when he closes and opens again, he sees himself.

Jude feels it interesting to share with his classmate, Claire. So he asks her to come to see. They close it again and play with it together. Sometimes they see themselves opening the door at the end of the hallway; sometimes they see some strangers. Some strangers open the door very happy, and some are shy. It is a naked man always hiding his body behind the door even it is open. It is a group of kids standing and laughing right after the door when it is open by one of them. And it may also be a girl crying.

Installation structure:

I'll use a potentiometer attached to door joint to input analog to Arduino board connected to a computer. The angle of door would control video frame playing on a straight screen built into a trapezoid constructure behind the door. There will be a modified door viewer box attached to the door. It has half transparent mirror let it either see a small screen playing video or see through fish eye lens.

scenario

2008-11-24T14:58:00.000-08:00

Concept/
Door Between Us is an interactive installation about human connection through poetics of doors opening and closing.

User/ Gallery viewers

Video content/

Possible form/

Next step/
Shoot video.
control frame by analog input.

I would like to build physical sculptures of human connection for next semester.

precedent/

Invisible doors idea

2008-11-23T11:09:00.000-08:00

Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs, 1965

Door is an ubiquitous interface that I am interested in for its embedded abundant human collective memory and universal usability.

Developed from a daily object, a physical door has become an interactive connector leading to an imaginary world, a tele-interface between distant places, and also an illusion generator changing space and place.

Being far away form the place where I have been for 24 years, and feeling various mental and cultural interpersonal distance, I found there are more invisible doors between people. To take a door as an metaphor for separation and access from a person to another, I would like to make an interactive sculpture about human connection through poetics of doors opening and closing.

Plan/

The user can control the video frame by opening and closing the door. While it is open, two hands connected. While it is close, two hands become separated which representing a relationship is over. There will be several movie clip showing interpersonal relationship connecting and disconnecting.

Material/

video, door viewer, screen

In the future, I would like to make the video into a real movable gesture sculpture.

Here's the first try of controlling digital door by a physical one.

Physical and Digital Door from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

Space illusion idea

2008-11-23T10:09:00.000-08:00

Victoria Thierrée Chaplin, aurelia's oratorio, 2008
Right pic/ The performer creates an illusion that her limbs can move from drawers to drawers at ease. It looks like her body is deconstructed and moving remotely.
Left pic/ There is a train driving theough the performer's body.
In this show, I admired the way performers use the space and how all objects move to create illusions. There is a period of time when all things are living upside down. And sometimes the inside of the stage becomes outside of it because things move out from the right move in from the left at the same time. Very impressive.

Jan Svankmajer, Darkness Light Darkness

I see different ways of receiving information from a door and a lot of imagination behind it in this piece.

Inside Outside
Being inspired by many movies and performances. I am interested in how vision can change one's perspective and perception of a space. I would like to create a door that generate illusion of the inside is the outside to question where the user is.

Plan/
When a user passes the door, it would release knocking sound. When he tries to look into the door viwer, he would see himself inside the room.
Material/
Half-transparent glass, door viewer, screen, software

test with card board and mac laptop
result/
It looks like facing a mirror with a little time lag.
It needs to be added after effect of fish-eye looking view on the screen.

Tele-interface idea updated

2008-11-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

Developed from previous idea of building a tele-door for distance users. It is sunset and sunrise that the environment changes the most everyday at the same time in both New York and Taipei. While the sun is going down, it is going up at the other side. I decided to make a door in New York leading to Taipei at this specific moment.
Sunrise Sunset
Plan/
Bring Taipei's sunrise to New York's sunset through a door viewer.
"This is how sun is going at the other side of the earth."

Material/
video, screen, door viewer.

After Midterm

2008-10-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

I found that there are problems in my current proposal.
So I tried to reply to Loretta's critics which make them pretty clear as fallowing.

Concept of distance? You are not grappling with this concept. (CR)

Yes, I realized right after the presentation.
I have a strong-motivated concept of interpersonal distance which has not addressed clearly in my prototypes. And I believe that it is a deep topic that hard to describe through an simple interaction. At the same time, I developed a format of making an interactive door to create a surprise moment and temporary illusion, which has not had solid enough concept yet. But it is effective and with a lot of possibilities. I am interested in both of them. But they are going totally two separate ideas now. I am wondering if it is too forceful to combine them, which direction should I choose for thesis?

Disconnect: not an experience that brings people together

Yes, I agree. So I attempted other formats to achieve what I wanna explore about cutting down mental distance. I started to compare how much time I spend on people around me to find a proper distance among my relationship. Also ask friends about what close means to them, ask them to think and draw a close one with eyes close, and ask who are close to them and who they stay with the most daily. A few tests gave them some thinking process of what the relationship between physical distance and mental distance is. Should it be direct ratio? Both physically too close and far might cause mental distance. Then what is the most balanced distance? Some of my friend suggests me to do it in narrative, using my own story and expression to build the mental interaction. I already had a plan of making a experimental video about this concept for a while but still have no time to push it forward because I am not confident with the format and content.

Door itself – simplicity of – powerful – has potential as study (ST)

I studied door in my first semester, which was interesting. But I am not sure about if there is enough motivation for me to keep discovering about this. Why is door important to me? The only thing connecting to myself is that I use it everyday and I always want to have an anywhere door. A door that can take me to anywhere I want. Let me meet with someone immediately regardless the cost and time of transportation. A magic door that can give me surprise all the time. I miss traveling a lot. Travel is the thing always brings surprise to me because scenes, people, and moods change from place to place. So maybe I can create an unexpected journey through a door. A journey of others' life? A journey in New York? A journey around the world? A journey through all doors in movies?

Make doors – many, many doors as experimental exploration: ‘what doors do; how people respond; meaning inherent in “doorness.”

What I am interested in door is that it has a lot of collective memory and it is everywhere, a universal language. it is about space and place, security and privacy, and curiosity and imagination.

Tree Map

2008-10-06T22:11:00.000-07:00

I questioned myself a lot during every step, so I could not finish anything practically. Today in writing class, I tried to map out my project and find out where I am in this diagram. As a result, it looks like a huge domain in the content, which is good as well as bad. The good thing is that I have abundant materials to address my concept. But the bad thing is obviously that I am engaged in many issues. Since I have to drill down for three-week-long process, I need to make a choice from them.
So, I picked physical interface on the form side. And for the first experiment- a door letting remote people communicate in real time, I think I was trying to make "On-line meeting" into physical world. It means that I attempted to make real-time meeting happens regardless space distance in physical world as easily as it does in virtual one.
For the second experiment- a door letting remote people communicate by passing a note to each other, I am going to recreate a usual communication way happens regardless space distance in physical world as easily as it does in the Internet.
The difference between the first and the second is that users can communicate with each other through touchable interface-paper weather the partner is in front of the door or not in the later . But in the first, although users have to be both on site to communicate, they don't have any time difference in this case.

Back to Anywhere Door

2008-10-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

For the difficulties of defining a way to measure interpersonal mental distance by physical objects, I decided to make my experiment go for the simple idea of Anywhere Door for now. I found that Internet has already done what I kind of want to do- change the sense of distance. Within on-line world, people can feel close with remote partners, see far away through great distance and time, and expend their power of effects easily. The most easy way to maintain long-distance relationship has become online meeting. In some degree, Internet has changed every computer or smart device with access to the web into an anywhere door. People use it to go through many places virtually, and to connect with others everyday in big cities. (My roommate is playing guitar with her boyfriend who is in Taiwan through Skype now. How miracle it is that two people can interact with each other regardless time and space)
So, to make a good use of the magic of Internet, I added some possibility into my experiment.

1. People can see random places around the world in real-time through a hole and they also can rotate the door nob/knock to switch scene behind the door connecting with world wide surveillance cameras.
2. Using Skype activated on two different locations, two remote doors make people living far apart communicate with each other as neighbors.
3. By drawing a rectangle on a wall, people can open a virtual door leading to a place on the earth.