copyright mischer'traxler 2008 - 2011
related projects:
collective works2011 - ongoing
process
commissioned by Design Miami & W Hotels
for 'W-Hotels Designer of the future' award
'collective works' - machine in interaction with the audience
the more people as audience, the more colour the machine adds
top view onto the machine's main mechanical components
detail of the drawing marker
all four coloured markers 
one of the first sketches of 'collective works'
resulting veneer baskets
one finished basket with the original veneer roll and markers
detail of a basket's label
some baskets which were produced during Design Miami/Basel in June 2011
collective works machine with display table for the finished baskets
first mechanical test with paper
material and colouring tests
This project was initially developed for the ‘W-hotels designer of the Future award’ exhibition at Design Miami/Basel 2011.
‘Collective works’ is a production process which is just fully functioning when people pay attention to the producing machine. Reacting to its audience, the process translates the flow of people into an object. The resulting outcome varies in colour and size just like the level of interest is varying during the time of production.
As soon as one person is coming close and looks at the machine, the production process is started: A wooden 24mm wide veneer-strip is pulled through a glue basin and slowly coiled up around a 20mm thick wooden base. Since the turning platform with the base moves downwards the veneer strip slowly builds up a basket. Once a second person joins to look at the process, a light tone colour is added via a marker onto the veneer. The more people come to look at the machine, the more markers are activated, each with a gradient darker tone. This goes up to four markers, at the same time, staining the veneer-strip black.
The interaction is possible due to sensors in the frame of the machine which detect the audience.Depending on the overall interaction time the baskets' height is defined. The more often somebody stops by to watch the process the higher the outcome gets.
The machine directly reacts to each observer and thus the outcome is as well directly depending on the audience. Every spectator leaves a mark on the object and therefore each basket becomes an unique record of the people's interest in the object's production. A basket – a vessel used to collect something becomes a collection of data by itself. If nobody is interested in the project, it stops producing at all and the final object just does not get made. This can be seen as 'production on interest'.
'Collective works' also questions the relation between man and machine. The audience is turned into workers even tough their effort is basically just their time they spend with the machine - but time is what most of us lack. Somehow. Normally many machines in factories just need some technician to monitor the production and suddenly one machine needs some audience to produce colourful, vivid outcomes.
__________________________________________________
‘Collective works’ is a production process which is just fully functioning when people pay attention to the producing machine. Reacting to its audience, the process translates the flow of people into an object. The resulting outcome varies in colour and size just like the level of interest is varying during the time of production.
As soon as one person is coming close and looks at the machine, the production process is started: A wooden 24mm wide veneer-strip is pulled through a glue basin and slowly coiled up around a 20mm thick wooden base. Since the turning platform with the base moves downwards the veneer strip slowly builds up a basket. Once a second person joins to look at the process, a light tone colour is added via a marker onto the veneer. The more people come to look at the machine, the more markers are activated, each with a gradient darker tone. This goes up to four markers, at the same time, staining the veneer-strip black.
The interaction is possible due to sensors in the frame of the machine which detect the audience.Depending on the overall interaction time the baskets' height is defined. The more often somebody stops by to watch the process the higher the outcome gets.
The machine directly reacts to each observer and thus the outcome is as well directly depending on the audience. Every spectator leaves a mark on the object and therefore each basket becomes an unique record of the people's interest in the object's production. A basket – a vessel used to collect something becomes a collection of data by itself. If nobody is interested in the project, it stops producing at all and the final object just does not get made. This can be seen as 'production on interest'.
'Collective works' also questions the relation between man and machine. The audience is turned into workers even tough their effort is basically just their time they spend with the machine - but time is what most of us lack. Somehow. Normally many machines in factories just need some technician to monitor the production and suddenly one machine needs some audience to produce colourful, vivid outcomes.
__________________________________________________
electro-technical support: Michael Zeltner
with many special thanks to Martin Robitsch for all his time and help and great support for this project.
project assistant: Greta Hauer
machine:
material:
wood, custom made electronics, motor, sensors, electromagnets, metal, marker
dimensions:
160cm x80cm x115cm
baskets:
material:
wooden veneer, glue, colour
dimensions:
Ø45cm, height:
depending on the interaction time, but max. 45cm
links:
Design Miami
W-Hotels