Hansen, in his book New Philosophy for New Media, discusses the nature of New Media Art and responds to its critics who argue that there is nothing ‘new’ about it. For example, Art Historians argue that it is an extension of Modernism, a movement. Film critics, however, argue that it is merely another form of expressing cinema. Hansen states that neither are entirely true. The key difference in New Media Art is the interaction of the body, whether that be in an altered physical environment, or a fully immersive, interactive world (such as 3-D gaming). The body must now both react and interact to the medium. The image becomes a guide to the experience, rather than the focal point.
I was reading this exerpt while watching a show about the Big Bang theory on the History channel. It gave me some ideas for a potential project this semester. Id like to toy with using IR LEDs as place detection, much like the Nintendo Wii controlers. These controlers also use accelerometers to measure the force used by the player. Taking these elements, and rearranging them to where the viewer can somehow be ’sensed’ by the installation might create some very interesting opportunities for interactive media. What I envisioned at the time was a projected image of our galaxy, or a similar, iconic representation of the universe, and the user being able to expand, contract, and generally manipulate the image from afar using IR LEDs as a control device, much like one uses the Wii-mote to interact with the Nintendo system. The viewer could experience an allusion to ‘playing god’ with the image at hand.
