[ISEA2006] Artists Talk: Matt Gorbet, Rob Gorbet & Susan Gorbet – Vanity to Profanity: Lessons from Participatory Art

Artists Statement

P2P: Power to the People is a metaphor for the enabling power of technology for individual expression. In creating this piece we’ve experienced first-hand the friction, the excitement and the unanswered questions that accompany bold new opportunities for people to engage. We will discuss what we’ve learned so far, having installed the piece in three fairly different cities and cultural contexts. We will relate the piece to the significant issues of accessibility, accountability, empowerment and oversight. In addition, we’ll give a brief overview of the technical and user interaction design of the P2P installation itself: our goals with the project, how we achieved them, and what we’d do differently.

Gorbet Design, Inc.: Matt , Rob & Susan Gorbet

  • Matt Gorbet, Toronto, Canada: Interdisciplinary technologist, researcher, artist, co-founder of Gorbet Design Inc. B.Sc in Architecture, M.Sc and Interval Research Fellow at MIT Media Laboratory. Former Researcher at PARC, Faculty member of the Canadian Film Centre, original member of ZeroOne advisory board and of the San Francisco Media Arts Commission (SMAC).
  • Susan Gorbet, Toronto, Canada: Experience designer, educator, researcher, artist, co-founder of Gorbet Design, Inc., faculty member at the Canadian Film Centre and the Ontario
    College of Art and Design. Former graduate research fellow at Stanford, research team leader at Silicon Graphics, and Director of User Experience Design for Excite@Home and Snapfish.com.
  • Rob Gorbet, Ontario, Canada: Registered Professional Engineer, professor, researcher, artist, collaborative partner with Gorbet Design, Inc., faculty member at the University
    of Waterloo. Director of the facility for Theoretical and Applied Research in Smart Actuators and Sensors, holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo.