Boundary Functions
by Scott Snibbe, 1998
by Scott Snibbe, 1998
Introduction
For this review I plan on reviewing a piece created by interactive digital designer/artist Scott Snibbe – ‘Boundary Functions’. Snibbe works primarily on interactive media works, so a lot of his work centres around peoples interaction with digital media in a physical space. The piece ‘Boundary Functions’ looks at how as people we interact with other people. It focuses on the idea that we all like to have our own personal space and don’t like it when others interfere with our personal space boundaries. The more people within close distance of our personal space, the more we value our personal space because it decreases in size. In real life we see boundaries to a lot of things, in particular areas that we are restricted to access. These boundaries are usually identified with fences to signify a closed area. This particular example of physical computing works with the idea of dividing a designated area into ‘boundaries’ separating the people interacting in the area.
As you can see in the photo above, five people are interacting in a space which is divided by boundaries surrounding each individual
Physical Personal Space Boundaries
Snibbe created a designated space in the form of a square, each time a person steps onto the platform in divides the area into separate sections i.e. boundaries. Every time a person moves around the space, the boundaries change size and shape, depending on the proximity of other occupants on the platform. If a person gets closer to another the boundaries change dramatically, this can be seen in the video.
This interactive physical computing shows how while we all have our own sense of personal space, it can also change significantly with the increase of people in said space. We see this is daily life, when walking in a crowd of people in a busy area, we try to stay clear from other people to avoid allowing others to enter your own comfort of space. However if the case is that you want to others to enter your personal space, then the installation also accounts for that, when people hold hands. This can be seen in the following video.
By connecting hands the two individual boundaries now become one. So if you are comfortable with another person invading your personal space, then it creates a joined boundary for you both.
How does it work?
Boundary Functions installation uses an overhead camera along with a projector over the top of the platform. This equipment is connected to a computer which is used to track the movement of people in the designated space. It uses the information received from the camera to create the boundaries also known as the Voronoi diagram using special software. This image is then projected onto the floor of the platform, where the people stand.
My Personal Review
I personally enjoy the idea of exploring how people interact with each other, especially in the case of how people try not to interact with each other by putting up personal boundaries between them. This piece shows physical boundaries we set between us and others in interacting in public spaces. Theses projected boundaries move as the individual moves, therefore it's shape and size change as others get closer, or more people enter or leave the space. Just by viewing the videos on the project, it's obvious that the people involved are having fun interacting with it, trying to see what will happen if the move faster or try and get closer to another individual. This is the kind of installation I personally enjoy participating in, as you can interact with others in a confined space and see how you react to each other. In our natural day to day life we interact with others constantly, so it's interesting to see how important we take personal space amongst strangers in a public space.
References
http://snibbe.com/scott/bf/index.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNEuKxLjtEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p96bTARFKc
