Wire Tree

The concept behind your piece is really clear and well defined. What I missing is why? Why do you think progress is an interesting notion to integrate into a physical space and represent in an experiential material installation? Is it related to the nature of wire - as a means of construction, as a root component of technology and electricity? etc.

The illustration included is incredibly helpful to the documentation.

Here are some things I would suggest to drive further

Site: I’d suggest looking at the basement as your surface. There’ s a long white wall downstairs outside the Experimental Fab lab (opposite media lab) which would be perfect for mounting a wire wall sculpture.

Technology: I’d recommend looking at Makey Makey (http://www.makeymakey.com) a super useful tool for creating interactive media surfaces from everyday materials. These are perfect for working with wire and would allow you to have media playback happen as someone directly interacts with your wire.

Color: Introducing color wire could be complex, especially if you plan to add projection over it. I’d avoid this and working with simple black or steel wire you’ll get the most out of projection on the wire. It’s an additional component you won’t have a lot of time to work with. Keep it simple!

Abstraction: I’d recommend avoiding literality in representing progress e.g. don’t create outlines of urban landscapes; it’s too obvious. Instead abstract your ideas and focus on foundational elements. If you have to just work with white light moving on a wire (or series of wire) how would you evoke progress? Is it the nature of the movement e.g. left to right movement indicating a timeline; a gradual acceleration of pace or increase in the complexity of projections, etc. Research and test simple, effective basic ways to evoke the ideas of progress working on simple abstract geometries.

Setup and Scale: How big is the wire sculpture going to be? It’s unclear from the documentation. But you have some constraints that will help you define it. I’d go and take a projector to the place where you plan to deploy and see how much throw you get from it. See how much of the surface it can fill easily. That tells you exactly how big a size you can work with in terms of wire (it probably won’t be as big as you think). Also I’d keep it relatively small to allow for higher fidelity projection (aim for about 3x3 foot) Also think about how you are going to mount the projector, speakers, etc. Where you’ll place (hide the computer controlling the interaction, etc.).

I think your ideas for this project are really creative! I really like the idea of projecting a figure moving along the wire; I think this would be a really engaging and entertaining way to draw in people that are walking by. I agree that it would be awesome if you were able to hide the projector, to make the wire sculpture and projection seem almost like a magical world, moving on its own. Additionally, it would be really interesting if one were able to interact with the figure or the wire, thought that might be quite complicated to integrate! I also like that you have a strong sense of purpose in that you want to communicate the notion of progress. Your documentation is also really clear and understandable. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

I like the idea of putting wire creations on a wall to get people to remember their goals and not lose sight of them. I think the idea of projecting onto these wire creations is also cool. I wonder how possible it would be given the time constraints, but if you wanted to add an element of interactivity, you may make a simple "game" where you can grab a joystick that moves a figure back and forth on the wire. Even if that's not something that you think is accomplishable, the rest of the idea is solid and I think the other two comments address any other concerns I had. Good luck and hope the final project turns out well!

I really like your idea of projecting people onto wires to represent progress! It sounds interesting and has a great potential, and like previous comments mentioned, I think the abstraction of the idea would make it more profound. I also agree that you can just have black wires and colorful projection. At the same time, you can possibly add in some interactivity since you mentioned the studying environment of Hunt and how you want to encourage people to be more perseverant. I feel like the idea would be best spread if people can actively participate in it. Good luck!

It is really cool how you want to show progression using wire landscape and moving projection. I have a question though, how are you going to make sure your wire stays on the wall? Because duck tape would not be very good to look at, and we aren't allowed to use material that will damage library property so pins might not work either. I look forward to your outcome!

I really love the intention that the project embodies. It fits the site – Hunt "library" very well and invokes the audience to really think about it. And I am not sure whether it's feasible/beautiful, but it occurs to me that wires involve the concept of progression in themselves. I feel it may be interesting to use projection to visualize/mimic the "flow" of electricity in the circuit to represent the idea of progress. Look forward to the final outcome!!

The way your project looks and is built is very reminiscent of ivy, particularly how it grows and takes over walls. Your project overtakes somthing inherently functional, walls in a library to separate rooms, and layers it with something that library-goers can respond to. You make the walls no longer static just taking up space. They can be touched and just as it branches out more and more, it calls for more and more participants to hold down buttons. Composed all of elements we know, buzzers, christmas lights, the combination is something we must discover for ourselves, through touch. This way your project has a calling of its own.