[-empyre-] slowness

Tamiko Thiel <tamiko@alum.mit.edu> · Thu, 12 Jun 2003 17:38:37 +0200

Hi Melinda -
Funny you should mention this - I will be talking on exactly that theme 
at the Kyoto Biennale in October. Their theme for this year is 
"slowness" and I suggested I show Beyond Manzanar and talk about how 
although we use the conventions of video games, we keep the walking 
speed down and put in some "mental speed bumps" so that people have to 
slow down and take more time to go through the piece, in the hope that 
they will start paying more attention to what is in IN the space rather 
than how to get OUT of the space. It borders on hilarious to watch 
gamers try to use their standard navigational technique to move around 
(fast, jerky) because the joystick doesn't respond "correctly" to that 
dynamic, and it also doesn't fit the content at all.
I can get through the piece in 7 minutes, but even I have to wait for a 
couple of slow animations to play out, which again are purposely built 
that way to encourage you to stop and really look at the landscape and 
what's happening there.
Of course, those are the parts where some people walk away. But hey, 
only dictators get 99% of the votes!
- tamiko

Melinda Rackham wrote:

tanmiko wrote:
I'm also not a gamer, although put my in front of a console and I'll
fire away like crazy - it's just that I'm not very good, die quickly and
have no interest in investing the improving my game.

i didn't want to admit to this, but yes im not very good either..! i always
want to get onto something else new that i might be better at..
re work..responses are varied.. i have had a lot of users say they really
love the visceral nature of the work.. but there is an interresting gender
bias..and i really hate that.. but the fact is women are more likely to
enjoy empyrean than men..  although lots of men do as well.
i was interrested it the sloth club (an eco cultural movement) which i came
across in japan last year. their motto is "slow is good"..
http://www.sloth.gr.jp/E-index.htm and i started looking at slow works of
art as a different way to engage the viewer..
melinda

m

--
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 Tamiko Thiel       Media Artist
 tamiko@alum.mit.edu
 http://mission.base.com/tamiko/
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