Presenter(s): Aidan Grealish − Art & Technology, General Science
Faculty Mentor(s): Colin Ives
Creative Work Session 3
Research Area: Art & Technology
Funding: Vice President for Research and Innovation (VPRI) Undergraduate Fellowship
Steve Mann once said that the “goal of wearable computing is to position or contextualize the computer in such a way that the human and computer are inextricably intertwined.” My project will engage with the entanglement of body and technology through the production of a series of wearable computing accessories that explore the permeability of the self and the computer in the age of the internet. Specifically, I will ask 1) How has the development of portable computing and ubiquitous internet softened the borders of self-identity? 2) To what degree must technology interact with the physical body to become a meaningful part of it? 3) Since we use these technologies as extensions of ourselves, how does our engagement with them— both in their design and use—impart agency onto the technology itself? My research and practice contributes to the quickly- growing field of human-computer interaction design. Though rapid innovation in the tech sector has produced incredible breakthroughs in computing, there is a need for alternative perspectives from outside the discipline; as technology becomes part of our very identities we must engage it with a critical and humanitarian eye. Visual arts practice is the ideal methodology for this engagement because the artist participates in every step of the design, execution, and communication of their work, allowing for a self-reflective analysis of the decisions and methodologies that contribute to the production of objects. This project will result in three end products: a collection of wearable computing objects, a production journal documenting my design and fabrication process, and a final manuscript detailing my findings for dissemination. My research-based practice will provide insight into human engagement with technological tools and will inspire discussion about the conception of self and the place of visual arts in the high-tech future.