San Francisco, CA
[research]
David Merrill
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DATA-TOUCH :: solenoids, capacitive sensing, custom electronics, microcontroller, wooden case
David MerrillOur experience with language is usually non-physical. Ephemeral spoken conversations, email message, online chat, web-pages, street-signs, product packaging - these interactions make use of our eyes, ears and brains, but do not typically engage the other senses. Braille readers however, have a unique ability to experience language through the sense of touch. DATA-TOUCH is an exploration in how the rest of us might enjoy a more physical relationship to language. Solenoids driven by custom electronics produce actuation underneath the hand, causing text messages typed on a nearby keyboard to be rendered as patterns of physical stimulation on each fingertip. The device is housed in an old wooden telephone box, to stimulate participants to think about the connections between different forms of linguistic communication.
[video] (small: ~3MB)
Funded (in part) by a Director's Grant from the Council for the Arts at MIT Exhibitions: TOUCH :: January 9-February 27, 2004, SPACE (Portland, ME). Amy Stacey Curtis curated this show as a part of SPACE's "Artists Curating Artists" series. |
