conversacube in the works
posted 07/04
a conversacube for every kitchen table, bedroom, and bar around the world! never experience another uncomfortable moment!
My plan for the next few weeks is two work on several tracks in parallel. The first will be developing some documentation for the table – mainly fictional scenario videos that hopefully allow viewers to engage with the table even if they can’t physically try it. The videos will depict various situations in which the table might be used and how it could affect interactions. In these scenarios I hope to draw out some of the questions and contradictions that formed the inspiration for creating this table.
At the same time, I plan to move on to a different piece that iterates on some of the same ideas I started to explore with the table. The piece is tentatively named ‘Conversacube’ and it will be a small box meant to form the centerpiece of any conversation situation. The box would sit in the middle of all conversants, with one face facing each person. On the top will be some kind of dial or input method for setting the current situation (ex: “first date”, “at a funeral”, “dinner with the in-laws”). Each outward face of the box will have a small screen and a microphone embedded just inside. As the conversation progresses, each person will be personally prompted with directions or lines to keep the conversation running smoothly. The microphones will record audio levels (and perhaps tone?) and the prompts will be modified accordingly, to ensure conversation that is balanced by all participants.
The intent is to make something that on one hand, is suggestive of an actual tool that could use technology to potentially improve interactions, and on the other hand, critical of our dependence on technology and choreographed social routines, hinting at a dystopic future where we sacrifice all autonomy to avoid having to face what we don’t already understand. The questions that I’m trying to draw out, as with the table, deal with which of these directions we’re heading. Or is it both? Are we consciously aware of the future we’re building with all of our technological innovation and “progress”?
conversacube sketches
The modes of exploration with this piece will be in two veins, similar to the table. First, I want to create boxes and test them in the real world (coffee shops, bars, homes) and collect feedback from test users. Second, I want to create a series of short advertisements, that explain the product and suggest possible use scenarios and solicit more test users.