"Embedded Art"- Art in the Name of Security

 

This project started for me with the script "Welcome to Bentham Airport!" by Peter Halász. After the September 11 attacks the world changed in the name of security and this play was dealing in different episodes with the question, how we change while being observed. Peter Halász died before his play could become real and so I was asked to transform this work into a media installation that would be part of the "Embedded Art"-exhibition at the "Akademie der Künste" in Berlin where a lot of artists contributed some work.

 

Location: Akademie der Künste, Berlin

Project: http://www.embeddedart.cfnt3.de/index.cfm

Impressions: "Welcome to the Bentham Zone!"

CNN-Report on "Embedded Art - Art in the Name of Security"


Germany's 'Embedded Art' exhibit von CNN_International

Documentation and creative process

 

In the late 18th century the philosopher Jeremy Bentham came up with a concept for a building called "Panopticon" where only a few people (or just a single person) can observe a maximum of inmates. The basic idea was, that observed people behave conform and follow the rules to prevent the consequences of non conform behaviour. So, instead of observing a person all the time it would be enough and more efficient if the person has a instant feeling of being observed.

 

Today, with the ongoing development of computers and networks, the ways to observe people reached a digital dimension. It is not limited to a stiff architectonic structure. The digital world allows to collect data of millions of people and to only a very small minority of people have access to them. The Panopticon is quite easy to understand when seen as a architectonic building whereas the digital incarnation of the same concept remains invisible. The religious wish of a god that watches you and noticing everything you do, seems to get a real body build out of computers, sensors and algorithms.

 

 To transform now the historical evolution of Benthams Panopticon into a installation that lets the visitors really feel the ambivalent situation by making them part of the installation itself, lead to a setup were a explorable virtual environment was projected onto a wall with a inviting console in front of it offering the controls. Every movement or action is visible to other people in the room. Personal questions have to be answered, virtual security cameras follow on every step.

 

 Since the game like interaction takes and needs your attention you forget from time to time that you might be watched by other people. Being alone in the room leads to a feeling of being unobserved and and becoming more open to the computer. The first person perspective was chosen, because it is the most immersive way to interact with a virtual environment. It also offers a strong feeling of making your own decisions and if you watch somebody else navigating through the virtual world, you can't stop judging the person.

First concepts and early material

Building the Hardware

 

The concept was, to let a visitor explore the virtual world in a way, that the actions and decisions are visible to other people. To get this done, a projection was chosen to get a large screen and a console to allow interactions.  In the process of building we came up with the idea to just combine the console with the beamer into a single element. The final object was also equipped with a little camera, so it could observe the visitor while exploring.

 

 

Architecture and visual style

 

The airport is seen as a prototype for a controlled democratic environment. We all want our flight and no problems so we do what ever is needed to get through the process. Nobody wants to get into the focus of the security because even when you didn't do anything wrong, they have the power to take your time and you may miss your flight or get into trouble. So we give up a few rights since we don't have anything to hide. We just want to pass the controls.

 

To find a visual style I choose to mix the old architectonic visuals with a clean and futuristic look. The architecture should be close, oppressive and powerful but to support at the same time the illusion of wideness and freedom. To get this all together, I took a look at he airport "Berlin-Tempelhof", old drawings and image material of Panopticons and combined this with conductor paths and visual references to "2001 - A Space Odyssey" (just have a look at the following pictures). Since the main part of the exhibition (see the CNN reportage) took place in the basement, this was also taken into account when designing the virtual 3D world.

Visual references for the virtual environment

Creating the "Guadian Angle"-logo

The final virtual environment

Final thoughts

 

This installation was a really great opportunity to dive into the psychological aspects of architecture. On top, the designed hardware is now a product and available at www.hapto.de!