« (t)error | Main | Cathartic User Interface »

December 17, 2004

The Table: Childhood

table04p.jpg

Relationship with a table

The Table: Childhood 1984-2001, by Max Dean and Raffaello D’ Andrea, is a robotic table that selectively interacts with persons who enter the room, but it will choose only one viewer among them. As long as that visitor stays, he or she will be the object of the table’s attention.

The table monitors the visitor’s physical reactions. If that person is unresponsive, Table tries harder: it might initiate an action enticing the viewer to copy it or turn on its axis with a pirouette; it might decide to chase – or even to flee. Once some kind of relationship is established, the table determines how to handle the situation, whether lyrically or aggressively.

The Table switches the roles of viewer and object. The artwork and not the viewer is in the position of choice. This in turn focuses the attention of other viewers on one particular visitors, making that person the "object" of attention.
(video) (Posted by Régine Debatty)

Posted by Regine at December 17, 2004 11:22 AM

Comments