biPolar

Chris McClelland’s piece, “biPolar,” is an extremely interesting use of new multimedia techniques. This piece, which is projected on a huge window on the second floor of the Katzen Museum, shows dozens of floating dots that move and change color depending on the actions and clothing of those who walk in front of it. During the day, the dots respond to these people and bounce about in a frantic manner when stimulated, or sit still and “pulse,” when they are left alone. At night, the shades on the window are drawn up and the dots are projected onto the window itself, allowing people who are driving by on the road outside to see them.

This piece is amazing in its use of live media. By using the program, “Processing,” McClelland has created little snippets of code that appear almost alive. When someone approaches them, they jump around excitedly like a puppy. When left alone, the sulk and attempt to draw attention to themselves through other means. McClelland has, for all practical purposes, created a simple-minded life form in his piece. What difference is there between McClelland’s dots and a baby, for instance? A baby will do the same thing when interacting with a person. They will mimic facial gestures and, when left alone, make attempts to regain an adult’s attention.

Is this McClelland’s intent? I’m not entirely sure. After speaking with him, it seems he was much more interested in color and interaction with the viewer and with polar opposites (an idea expressed by the title of this piece and the dual day and night nature of it). However, the idea of the creation of life with multimedia is still important. While it is impossible to say that McClelland has created an intelligent being with this piece, he has created something that pretends to be intelligent… fairly convincingly so. It will be interesting to see how McClelland expands on this in future pieces.