[ISEA2010] Artists Talk: Ursula Damm, Matthias Weber & Sebastian Hundertmark – Fernfuehler: an Art and Research Project about Ambient Intelligent Furniture for Public Places

Artists Statement

The observation of public spaces has been a topic in both science and in the arts. Science provides quantitative methods to describe pedestrian crowds and pedestrian interaction. With person tracking and intelligent algorithms it is possible to measure the behavior of people moving across a place. In comparison, few is known about the impact of architecture and the design of public spaces on the ambiance of a site.

Present systems only passively observe places and pedestrians on it without influencing the situation. What is about to happen if the space itself changes? Or, taking it one step further: What if the place itself observes passers-by and responds to the behavior of pedestrians to the point of influencing them?

  • Ursula Damm (DE) has become known for her installations dealing with geometry and its social impact on public space. Her works are shown nationally and internationally in numerous exhibitions. Since 2008 she holds the chair of Media Environments (Media Arts & Design) at the Bauhaus-University Weimar.
  • Matthias Weber (DE) finished his studies of computer science (Diplom) at the University of Bielefeld in 2003. He then worked as a research scientist at different research departments like the Institute for Informatics at the TU Freiberg or the ergonomics department of the Fraunhofer FKIE.
  • Sebastian Hundertmark (DE) graduated in product design in 2005. Since 2008 he is working as a lecturer at the department of media art & design at the Bauhaus University. His fields of expertise and interest span from exploring the frontierland between design, art and sience to furniture design.

Full text (PDF) p.  383-385