Geometries of Power

Tamiko Thiel, 2002
Source: Tamiko Thiel, 2002

Tamiko Thiel

Geometries of Power , ongoing
Co-workers & Funding
Tamiko Thiel, "Geometries of Power" was developed October 7 - 18, 2002 at the Bauhaus-University in Weimar, Germany during a workshop on Interactive 3D Virtual Reality Environments.
Participating students at the Bauhaus-University/Weimar:
Thematic concept, interactive image fragmentation: Daniel Fischer; Cropping shared images, sound and geometry into a world (a multi-user version based on code graciously supplied by Holger Grahn.), Bernhard Bittorf, Mathias Möhring; Growing 3D structures: Mark Winterhaller; Sound design and editing: Lisa Kumpf; Recording and replay of multi-user sessions: Sebastian Heymann, Kristian Hildebrand, Henrik Thoms; The workshop was held by: Tamiko Thiel, Peter Graf, network technologist
Documents
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Description
"Geometries of Power" is a multi-user online 3D world that uses
the interactive characteristics of space, geometry and sound
to question concepts of power and control.

Beginning with the blank canvas of a faceless modern city, participants click-and-drag images – each image chanting its own audio mantra – to both construct and deconstruct the world. Some images, photos of public politicians, are mapped at a giant scale onto the faces of the buildings. Others images, photos of underground terrorists, appear at ground level and can be further deconstructed into smaller tiles - each tile repeating its audio mantra.

Although the images of politicians dominate the space by virtue of their huge scale, the deconstructed images of the terrorists start filling the space between buildings. The more fragmented they become, the more they dominate the space both physically and through the hum of their multiple voices.

The following images were produced during the Fusion02 Event on December 6, 2002. The event was hosted by the Bauhaus-University/Weimar and the University of California/Los Angeles (UCLA,) but other participants joined from various locations including Australia, the USA, France, Belgium and Germany.

Initially the images came only from the directories we provided. As the event progressed, participants searched the Internet for other images, leading inevitably to a loosening of our theme but with very interesting visual results. The tool itself became a way to subvert the power and the control of its creators.
Keywords
  • subjects
    • Art and Science
      • dynamical systems
    • Body and Psychology
      • speech
    • Power and Politics
      • democracies
      • politics
Technology & Material
Hardware
Windows XP PC, Internet
Software
blaxxun Interactive VRML browser
Exhibitions & Events
Bibliography