Two data sculptures that focus on representing the varying mood of online friends. The first piece, called the Weeping Willow: a Tree Full of Friends [martinluge.com], consists of a tree-like form with wooden moving branches. Every branch stands for an online friend, and the slope of a single branch represents their happiness or sadness: the happier the friend, the higher the branch will grow. Each branch is made of different segments. The alignment of the segments depend on a numerical value assigned to different adjectives, ranging from 0 to 10, for sad and excited respectively.
In an interesting twist, a new segment is recorded for every day of a week. At the end of the week, the tree is laser-cut and send to the recipient.
The other piece, titled Rose of Jericho: a Living Data Sculpture, is a flower normally growing in deserts, able to survive very long times without water. When watered, the branches rapidly spread out. The process of curling up and opening is reversible and can be repeated many times. Accordingly, the water supply for the rose is controlled by a friend's mood. Happier or more wholesome state results in plenty of water for the plant, and sadness curbs the water supply all together.
These data sculptures attempt to maintain ambiguity and ambivalence: one should not directly be able to read its meaning directly, but instead the focus is on conveying more general feeling of a friend's mood.
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Via Information aesthetics
Personal comment:
Dans la lignée des objets génératifs produits à partir de données collectées sur les réseaux: celui-ci s'appuie sur son réseau d'amis et leur état d'esprit. Une sorte d'arbre décoratif actualisé chaque semaine et qui traduit un certain nombre d'informations. Il y a une dimension de "contact" et de présence à travers l'"arbre" (par exemple, le fait de constater que la branche d'un ami descend nous pousserait peut-être à l'appeler et lui proposer une sortie ou un repas?) qui dépasse l'aspect souvent purement formel du design génératif.