Below is an image of the classic 'Skinner Box', an operant conditioning chamber used in experimental psychology to study animal behavior.
The second image shows a dog partaking in a game of 'flyball'. The flyball machine was invented by Herbert Wagner. He realised that his dogs needed physical exercise, but didn't want it to cost him any effort. Even throwing a ball was too much trouble and so he invented a machine that would launch a ball for him. The machine is operated by a dog pushing on the small wooden board.
Momentarily moving away from animal conservation, I am going to explore the possibilities of interactive interfaces that are made for animals.
Many experiments have been carried out to test the behaviour and intelligence of animals. This image shows psychologist Elizabeth Brannon using touch-screens, Plexiglas boxes holding raisins and buckets hiding grapes to establish that ringtails and his mongoose lemur cousins possess a surprising ability to learn sequences of pictures and to discriminate quantities. While Brannon’s work is still only at a preliminary stage, its initial results lead her to believe that such studies could mark the dawning of a new appreciation of lemur intelligence.
'The ringtails live in social groups, which could be distracting, and they’re completely free to just ignore us and the apparatus. But despite these possible complications, we found they would completely voluntarily come over to the screen and participate.' (Brannon, 2004)
Brannon (2004) explained that sometimes, the lemurs even competed with one another. "Occasionally, one animal would come over and finish the sequence started by another to get the reward," (www.innovations-report.de)
On one side of the thaumatrope, images of wild animals in their natural surrondings, and on the other, images of hats, rollerskates and rings of fire. When the disk spins the images on both sides of the toy combine. I like the retro feel of the thaumatrope and I think it would be appropriate that the images be printed on the disc in an old fashioned way (resembling the increasingly old fashioned view of animals as entertainment).
Using a similar form of electronics and programming to that of the 'RFID DIY kit' shown below, I could insert a tag into each of the thaumatropes so that when the toys are placed on the reader, a corresponding video would be played on a monitor.
These early toys that show monkeys dressed up in human clothes and smoking cigarettes may have warped our perception of animals and encouraged people to view primates as a source of entertainment.
There are many wild caught, endangered primates smuggled for illegal trading in Thailand. The Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre underwent an undercover investigation at Safari World in Thailand in 2002. More than a dozen orangutans and several chimpanzees were found dressed up and made to perform a Thai boxing match. All these orangutans were juveniles and there were no adult orangutans found in the park.
There are many primates in Thailand and other parts of the world that are forced to wear clothes and pose with tourists for photographs. After the photo sessions they are often chained up inside very small cages. Some primates have their incisors and canine teeth removed to prevent them from attacking.
These old Circus posters depict animals made to perform painful, dangerous, abnormal stunts for our "amusement." Today, many circuses around the world still use animals as a form of entertainment and many of the animals are captured in the wild.
Campaigners say animals should be banned from circuses and there needs to be a change in the law to prevent wild animals suffering undignified and unnatural conditions. Campaigners have long argued that the use of animals in circuses should be banned because they are kept in areas too small for them, causing life-long mental torment. Many also suffer physical abuse during training and practices, they say, including an unnatural lack of exercise.
I am interested in finding a way of merging traditional low-tech kinetics with digital art to form the structure of my new media project. I have now reached the point in my investigation where I think it is necessary to take a step back and consider what the motivation behind my project proposal is.
One subject that emerged from my mind maps was the matter of animal conservation and the export trade. I am particularly concerned with primates and the illegal hunting, smuggling and sale of endangered species. This issue could be at the centre of my interactive project, providing information and raising awareness in an interesting, new way.
I will try not limit myself to only working with kinetics if another form of interactive installation seems the more appropriate solution.
Sennep is an interactive design company creating experiences for digital and physical environments.
The Interactive dandelion was commissioned for 'transvision' at the Victoria and Albert museum. The installation allows users to blow away the seeds of the dandelion clock using a real electric hairdryer, the seeds then reform to create another weed.
'blowing it apart is a popular pastime for children. The number of blows required to completely rid the clock of its seeds is deemed to be the time of day'. (Wikipedia)
Imagedrome has explored kinetic movement in a purely digital form, however, their work does not have the same tactile and aesthetic appeal of kinetic artists who produce three dimensional physical mechanical objects and sculptures. The interactive dimension of kinetic art is generally regarded as a precursor to the digital and computer art of today. I prefer the work of non-digital kinetic artists or designers who have combined the two elements of high and low technology.
Techart Group's "Office Live" is an interactive chain-reaction installation that consists of a series of four interconnected units. "Office Live" is an attempt to use the concept of kinetic art to represent the characteristics of modern office automation as well as the working life of the human involved.
The core concept is that the modern office, under a standard management procedure and automated office network and system management, has become a self-organizing and self-generating organism. The theme of "Office Live" is represented via the working environment of an office and its essential elements. The four units personified a fish manager, creative concept staff, work executor, and administrative staff respectively. Each installation is set on "standby" and "ready to activate". The "fish manager" plays the role of an immediate domino effect activator. By printing work instructions automatically from a printer and activating various devices sequentially, such as reviving the crumpled papers scattered on the desktop or automatically activating the screen, instantly switching the desktop from private personal tools to a ready workstation. Finally, during the whole process of reporting back to the fish manager, an automated working life circle is completed. There are no actual human involvement and activation throughout the entire process. The activation of the office scene domino effect is done through the swimming of the fish manager.
The four chain units consist of an interactive fish tank with a live fish, self-running crumpled papers, self-playing CDROM player and a desk with changing projected images. The Rube Goldberg Machine and Kinetic Art inspire the concept of this chain-reaction installation, but the interactive technical skills enhance the power of chain-reaction and make the installation more dynamic.
