Eco Interno

This work begins with the presentation of a puppet that rotates slowly in an enclosed environment, trapped in an entertainment role. However, when the user interacts with a click, the room is transformed into a new space that visually simulates a “brain”, and causes the puppet to act differently in this environment, performing a “dance” that contrasts with its initial behavior.

The work is developed in two parts: an external look where the puppet is exposed in a position of visible and passive object, and an internal look where it acts from the freedom of its own mind, symbolizing the gap between what happens internally and what is perceived externally.

This contrast invites users to question whether they too have an internal version that remains hidden or differs from the perception that others have of them. An opportunity opens to recognize an internal and external self, inciting introspection about what we are internally and what we let see.

Technical, aesthetic and conceptual development

The work presents a 3D puppet in a closed environment. Textures are used to give a “skin” appearance to the puppet model, a series of joints (spheres and cylinders) to simulate the head, arms, legs and neck, and a box for the torso. Usually puppets have threads that control them, but this is not controlled by threads but by the code language.

“This is precisely where speech act theory relates to the supposed performativity of the code: “when a word not only means something, but performatively generates exactly what its meaning designates.””

When the user clicks, they collaborate with the code to make a change in the work, triggering as a direct action a “dance” that oscillates the movement of their limbs and torso, accompanied by the change in appearance of the room that, by showing the same image in the different planes, surrounds the puppet, placing it inside a “brain”, along with a change in light that creates a reflection effect of the background image.

“In his commentary on an installation by Beuys, David Sylvester indicated exactly where the viewer should be placed to get the most out of the aesthetic and emotional appreciation of the work. A critic as perceptive as Sylvester but trained in the study and enjoyment of painting, completely misunderstood the “installation” format, rescuing the possibility of its reproduction, marking the place where the camera lens should be placed.”

By understanding the environment in which we work we can have a better idea of ​​what we can achieve. Instead of telling the user how to interact with the work “correctly”, let them figure it out for themselves. Although the intervention coming from the user interaction in this work is limited, it is taken into account that the type of actions are usually the first that come to mind to users when presenting them with an interactive work. With a simple click you can reveal the second part of the work.

The first part of the work symbolizes the exterior of the puppet, displayed in an empty room where he is the entertainment, while the second part explores the interior of his mind, revealing a facet in which the puppet acts differently, performing a new action.

This duality invites the viewer to reflect on how we sometimes live a version of ourselves in our minds, different from the one perceived from the outside. Thus, the work suggests an opportunity for introspection, inviting the user to ask themselves if they also find within themselves a version of themselves that perhaps no one else perceives.

Literature

AIRA, César. (2013, 2016). “Sobre el arte contemporáneo” en Sobre el arte contemporáneo Buenos Aires: Literatura Random House, pp. 11-56. (DAA: 1:02m)

ARNS, Inke. (2005). “El código como acto de habla performativo” En Revista Artnodes, Julio de 2005, ISSN 1695-5951