Zazaziza

Somethingscopes are a series of objects that explore interactive/reactive phenomena from the eyes of a Victorian time traveler. These electromechanical/optical contraptions draw inspiration from simple machines, and what they do is basically try to interfere/react with/to computer screens.

A distant cousin of the Somethingscope is the contemporary widget, a small application that runs in its own window and provides very specific information to the user. A Somethingscope can be seen as a physical widget of sorts, in the sense that it is a small contained system that lies on the screen and it might react to and influence whatever is happening at the GUI level of the computer OS, but since a Somethingscope is physical, it could be understood as a kind of reverse augmented reality, that is, augmenting the virtual from reality.

As this is a work in progress, our self-imposed brief might be subject to change, nevertheless the spirit of the idea is to recreate simple physical/optical phenomena that could persuade humans to think and feel about the dialectic of the physical and onscreen worlds and . Or something.

An assemblage of reused cardboard, small EL sheets and conductive ink, gives shape to this rapid EL postcard prototype, in which 2 breast-shaped cutouts, upon user activation, close a circuit that makes each EL stamp glow. Pretty simple.

After an experimental first round of EL animal cards, time has come for Zazaziza to move on, aiming to reach new pastures of a more interactive kind. The convergence of paper engineering, origami and electronics is one of the most promising fields in contemporary interaction design, at least according to some internal Zazaziza memos.

We are at the baby steps stage, more prototypes and explorations to come.

Above: Latest and last EL Animal Card and badass ghetto inverter.

Due to a shortage of cheap EL material, Zazaziza regrets to inform the public that there wont be any further production of prototype EL Animal Cards, perhaps some EL stamps are on the way (yeah, we are cheapskates that way.) Our next steps include something more 3-dimensional (origami/paper engineering), now we are looking for cheap A4-sized EL sheets (any colour) and perhaps a couple of venture capitalists.

Let’s consider this everyday situation: Laptop activates scary inflatable USB mouse (a) which makes elephant wreak havoc on central street (b) while human blogs the event to news service. Mobile RSS subscriber gets feed update. (c) Custom script in phone detects the word ‘elephant’ and sends WiFi message. WiFi-enabled kitchen blender containing miracle growth hormone receives message and turns itself on (d), distributing hormone around it. Palm tree next to blender rapidly grows to the point of having several ripe coconuts (e), one of which falls on laptop that sends email to another person (f), activating new segment of the process.

What is the world but a gigantic Rube Goldberg machine with the only peculiarity that its requisite futile purpose is yet unknown? The over-complicated mechanism is there, working ceaselessly every day, while its absurdity permeates every single entity, process and being contained in it; think of global warming, human relationships, sex, life…

Isn’t the life of each individual just a series of increasingly complex awkward steps toward a most simple conclusion—death? Perhaps schedules, deadlines, plans and goals are only massive self-delusional strategies, perhaps control is only an illusion. It seems there’s no escaping the Goldbergesque essence of everything. Are we all only pieces of a planetary Goldberg machine at the same time that we live our little Goldberg machine lives? In the end, does Goldberg always have the upper hand?

Victor Szilagyi, a consummated observer and enthusiast of Rube Goldberg phenomena, coined the expression “Because We Can” (BWC) while trying to come up with a name for an imaginary interaction design contraption that would contain every piece of buzzwordy technology available in the collective conscience of the interaction design establishment (think of an RFID-GPS–location aware–ambient-sustainable-ubiquitous–tele presence–smart object–mobile-networked–web 3.0–nanotech-biotech machine with many Arduinos, Wiring boards, lasers, Bluetooth signals and what not, created only, well, because we can.) As far as we know, such device was never built (at least purposely) however, we are sure that seedlings of the idea lie dormant in the minds of many interaction designers of Victor’s generation.

So, how does all this relate to Zazaziza?

Zazaziza, as countless other practitioners in the field, stubbornly strives to make the invisible unnecessarily visible (BWC.) Following this train of thought, how can we make evident what we believe is the inherent Goldbergianism of the world? what for? isn’t it evident already? would such a project lead to a global suicide pandemic? is it correct to say that a Goldberg machine trying to show the world the very essence of its banal workings, has a non-futile purpose? if so, could this project still be classified as a Goldberg machine?

So many questions, so little brains.

Guided by the firm belief that failure and rejection can only thicken the skin, Zazaziza wants to make public the proposal it presented to the Belluard-Bollwerk Festival. The project is called Anima, it is basically a urban game of capturing souls using Polaroid cameras. Here is the summary from our proposal:

“Inspired by the ancient Amerindian and South Pacific aboriginal peoples’ belief that photographic images can steal one’s soul, the Anima experience project is an attempt to bring back some of the magic aura and the sense of wonder of the basic principle of photography, freezing a moment in time on a 2-dimensional surface.

In Anima, the goal for each player is to capture images of other players as a metaphor for capturing their souls and their innermost essence, while not letting others do the same to his or her own soul. As part of the game equipment all players wear t-shirts with a dynamic electroluminescent display that acts as a physical representation of the soul, a modified Polaroid camera fitted with an infrared communications module and a timer.

Every player has to capture as many souls as possible during the game. When a player is reduced to the soulless state, he or she must get their soul back, hunting down the original hunter. By taking a picture of this hunter, the soul comes back to the original owner, the soul display t-shirt returns to the on state and the player is ready to hunt other souls again.

(…) The goal is to create a ritual by which seemingly ’sacred,’ personal images are shared among unknown people, reflecting on the value of the image and celebrating what it captures and exposes, our lives.”

No, Zazaziza is not bitter about not having Anima chosen by Belluard-Bollwerk, well, perhaps infinitesimally bitter. For those interested besides our mothers, here is the full proposal: Anima_zazaziza.pdf

Well, while the nocturnal bird shows-off with it’s virtuosic EL animal cards, let’s think about the 3D version, why not folding the EL paper in order to have new structure? So, there you go - this sleepy creature is a dog, the kind that shakes its head all the time. A dog, which is trying to be a lamp, you think it becomes a theme here? Luminescent hounds, It might be the next trend :]