Newsletter #15
Our fifteenth week was spent finalizing our two installations for the BVW Festival. We had successfully showcased our M_rror installation at the Dirty Ball on the 27th, and it doubled as a playtest for us. It was fascinating to see how much context affected the piece, especially since it has a minimum distance for the Kinect to detect a person. It was placed right outside the bathrooms so when people want to check themselves before returning to the party, the mirror refuses to show their reflection. However, because of that placement and the narrow space, people typically approached it quickly to check their makeup. Overall, it was a fantastic experience and gave us some exposure.
We received M_rror on Monday and took the back panels off to make some final tweaks. We wanted to add magnetic clasps to help keep the doors shut, and we wanted to sand down the edges so the pieces fit snugly. As the final touch, we applied a final coat of varnish.
We then shifted our attention to One to One so we could finish that for the BVW Festival. Since this piece only had one jar at Soft Opening, we wanted to use this opportunity as a second opportunity to show our work to the faculty before Finals. Yotam applied the final coats of varnish to the jars and handed them off to Jason so he could place the PCB and finalize the LED placement inside the core. Elwin applies the final coats of varnish to the mounts and handed them off to Anisha so she could attach them to the false wall. As a team, we created an assembly line to finalize the switch on the outside of the jar. Once it was all constructed, Anisha wrapped the polyester filling around the core and we tested all 20 of the jars.They all worked! We applied the glue, secured them into the mounts, and let them sit overnight.
BVW Festival
The reception at the BVW Festival was overwhelmingly positive! People loved both of the installations and there was a natural progression for seeing both of them. Guests played with the mirrors first since it greeted them in the lobby and then went upstairs to the jars to leave their messages. One to One was in a high traffic area since it was outside of a BVW room and the idea was easily understood by most of the guests. Moreover, people felt compelled to leave their own messages after opening a jar and releasing the previous message.
Looking Forward
Next week is our finals presentation. Over the course of the week, we will be finalizing our maintenance manual for the caretaking of the two installations and we’ll be meeting with faculty and staff to discuss handing off the pieces to the school.
We’re also looking to different exhibition locations for our work. Although they are not confirmed, it seems that people are excited about the ideas and want to include the pieces in conferences and exhibitions!