http://www.abstractmachine.net
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Asymptote
Ars Electronica, Linz - mentioned
Created for the ICC Tokyo, Asymptote takes its point of departure from the essay “On the Marionette Theater” by Heinrich von Kleist. In the center of a darkened room stands a small cylindrical pedestal with a series of thin wires connected to a force-feedback mechanism. When the visitors pull these strings, projected marionette images come to life, animated by the rhythm and movements of the user’s gestures. An interactive narrative develops, based on stories from the Kleist text. A disjunctive dialogue then issues, with users pulling on marionnettes, and marionnettes physically pulling back via the force-feedback motors. The result is often that of mythical death and dismemberment.