set up

it's chilly
inside...

The 3rd Test

nice set up...;D
test it!

The 3rd Test

On our way to the spot...

Our First final test; A success?

Our first test of the final project design was shaping up great! We had a beautiful sunny day and a beautiful Kiosk to present our intentions... and our boots. See the video below for some of the action that went on.

As you can see imidiatly after setting up the Kiosk it was successful at luring curious by standers and inviting them to try the Rubber Boot experience themselves! But then what happened?

This women was eager to get in the fountain, but not so eager to get her feet wet. It turned out that since our last test rain water had caused the fountains to fill higher than our boots would allow.

Is this a failure? Only sorta. Our new Kiosk obviously did the job of enticing people to try out the rubber boots and get their pictures taken. Now all we gotta do is figure out how to get the extra water out of the fountain... without taking a ride downtown.

work in progress

...and we built it!

work in progress

And then we decided to refine it...
so we started from the beginning and changed the visual layout...

Test 1 - Images

The winds took their toll on the sign - now quietly tucked between the box and the ledge.















nice, but....
















Ahem... nice pose?

Test 1 - Images

This is so RAD!!















Into the Deep!

















Mission Accomplished :)





















This shoe dont go with my heels :(

Prototype (Test - 1)

The prototype test session went rather well! People were excited about hopping into the fountain and getting their picture taken. Unfortunately there were very strong winds so we couldn't really hide our identity from the public, as one of us had to keep running back to our installation to make our pictorial "sign" stand upright. But it was a plus in one way. The visitors could give us feedback. This post-mortem is thus divided into two sections:

A. Technical Issues
1. Pictorial sign board should be sturdy, to withstand strong winds/extreme weather conditions
2. Image size on the board should be much larger, to be seen from distance and in twilight.
3. Some image should also warn people against the slimy fountain floor, and to tread safely.

B. Observations/ Feedback
1. People who tried the shoes did not necessarily leave them back on their stand.
2. People liked it for various reasons:
- It defies park authority, so was a radical thing to do.
- It was fun!
- It was something different. You know, after all it New York!
3. People were curious but wont try the boots in cold/dark weather.
4. People could not try boots if their own boots prevented them from wearing them.
5. Installation should be set-up when no one's around. The first crowds were hesitant to try as they thought we were setting it up in exchange for cash

Concept 1: Rubber boots

premise:
The fountain is a great place for photography. People love to photograph themselves in front of the set-up. Its like a souvenir. The only wish remaining would be to be able to photograph oneself inside the fountain.

concept:
create an installation that provides tourists rubber boots/plastic covers to enable them to wade through the fountain waters and also a cell phone to take pictures with. The images will automatically get transferred to an online blog, from where people can recover their images.

construction:

• rubber boots/plastic covers

• a kiosk

• a camera enabled phone

• internet connection (wireless is in the park)
  

location:
at the front perimeter of the fountain, since thats the front side of the sculpture and most photographed by tourists.




Diagram:

Concept 3: Gigantic Playing Cards

premise:
A lot of performers earn their pocket money and sometimes their daily bread at the Fountain. If the tourists aren't taking pictures, relaxing or feeding the ducks, they're usually clustered around some performer or the other. Its fun to watch, but what if one could participate?

concept:
The playing cards are modular walls that can be moved around by the visitors. They would have the typical king/ queen/ hearts etc upon them with holes for perhaps from where somebody could stick their head out (and perhaps their friend takes a picture!) The idea is to leave these props out for visitors to play/perform with while we discreetly observe how they are perceived and used throughout the day.

construction:

• corrugated board

• colored printouts or paint
  

location:
At the landing of the right stairway that leads to the fountain
(a) because its a non-intrusive space, yet enuff visitors pass it by
(b) its anticipated that the cards may travel all over the space




Diagram:

Concept 2: VIEWFINDERS

premise:
The fountain is a great place for photography, for sitting around, for observing people passing across the park. Its a place for performers, couples, tourists and the peace-seekers alike. There is plenty to observe and you may never know in which nook you may find something interesting.

concept:
The viewfinders is an installation that shows you the unexpected. A series of windows invite the curious to peep inside. What you may see may not be what you expect, but may provide an unseen perspective to the space. It sort of mimics and goes beyond the photographers zoom lens.

construction:

• corrugated board with windows cut into it.

• lenses and mirrors form a periscope like attachment

location:
the balcony: its a good place from where to get an overview of the space. It would be interesting if the overview could be combined with detail (as produced by the Viewfinders). It would also create a curiosity to then explore the fountain space for the sights they just viewed.

Diagram:

Observations

During the first week of the project we spent 24 hours observing the area surrounding the fountain. The key activities we took note of are as follows:

Taking pictures


Lots of That


Mostly that in fact


There is a lot of hanging out too


As well as performances
Everything from Break Dancing


Classical Music

...Toth


Even Massages


In addtion to pictures we took detailed note for stretches of our observation. Below are a sampling:

LOGBOOK:SATURDAY 20 OCTOBER 2007
11:45 The place is crowded with people. Saturday seems to be THE DAY for people to visit the central park.

12:30 The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn(band)arrive on the scene (near food stalls). people move from the front to the food stalls to hear them play.

12:45 A woman posed as a statue/dancer catches attention of several people. Suddenly all cluster to see and photograph her. One fellow is trying to make her laugh. After people wear out of taking pictures of her, they go somewhere else. New people replace them, indulging in the very same thing.

1:15 A huge tour group has arrived. Somehow people love to sit facing the sun!

1:30 The clouds make the weather go from sunny to shade, hot to cool. Its pretty windy from time to time.

1:58 A bride and groom walk in for a photo-shoot. They are also being photographed by the people around them.

2:05 I change the place where i sit yet again. This place is great for portraiture. You can see people eating now. Its hunger time!! A family with all members with bikes and wearing biking gear park their bicycles next to where I sit. They too are off to eat food.

2:30 The area in front of the flight of steps is packed with people as a performance has just begun. Its two guys doing acrobatic tricks and cracking jokes some jokes over the black and white NY communities. Its all in good jest and they have an informed and sensitive sense of humor. People are really enjoying themselves. Its funny, but they have even pulled the crowd away from The Blue Vipers of Brooklyn and the dancer. The latter troops pack up and leave for someplace else.

3:05 The performance is over and the crowd dissipates. Another crowd forms in the space under the flight of stairs - an American Indian is performing solo out there. He is dressed in Indian gear and his vocal chords are really strong - he is almost warbling loudly and doing a flourishing dance!

3:15 The performers have taken their break and they begin to pull the crowds once again. The American Indian loses his audience but he is resilient. He is performing despite the dearth of audience. This fellow sitting besides me (I'm on the periphery of the fountain now), suddenly breaks into conversation with me. He gets interested in what kind of photographs I was shooting, lighting, and the conversation goes on to how NY was different before (this guy claimed to be sixty years old). We discuss India, globalization, economy, apple and windows, helicopters, dogs, food, and I think we chatted away for quite a while.

3:40 The performance is over, yet the Indian is still going. He was singing throughout and still hasn't taken a break.

4:00 Crowds are more evenly distributed around the fountain now.

4:05 Gawd!! the two performers have begun their antics yet again. Oh, and after they finish performing, they collect money from the crowd gathered. I've never met a more witty, shrewd, intelligent and enterprising performing duo ever before. They are wild, and permanent at the central park.

4:30 A video crew is shooting some episode/ film. The light now is perfect for photography.

5:00 The video team leaves. Another band is here playing classical music. They're playing stuff from the notes in front of them, like an orchestra. They're very good and people have surrounded them. Though the two performs are still upto their tricks, this band has managed to capture quite a size of the crowd. Finally the audience is equally distributed between the Indian, the band and the performers. I can hear the Indian across the fountain. He truly is resilient. The band seems to be really young. They're just happy with all the applause (and thats all they are getting). They dont seem to concerned with the money.

5:30 Ah, the lack of money finally shows. Or maybe it was some other reason. But the young band packed up and left despite an audience.

6:00 Its become chilly. And dim. All performers except for the Indian have left. The Indian has stopped singing and dancing and now sits wrapped in a shawl next to his bunch of CDs that are kept for sale.

6:30 Not much is happening now. People are not really focused anywhere. Not even into taking pictures. There aren't any crowds either. Just a homogenous spread of people relaxing at different corners of the space. I decide to leave.

7:00 I'm finally out of central park. On my way out I encountered the dancer posed at one intersection. She looked tired and her makeup was cracking, but she stood still as ever. A seeming big band played on the half dome amphitheater. Pretty grand setting but bad music. A huge troupe danced to psychedelic music on roller blades. That was quite wild as it was people from various age- groups.

Space - The Bethesda Fountain

Located at mid-Park on the north side of 72nd Street, Angel of the Waters Fountain at Bethesda Terrace was placed in the Park in 1873. Today the fountain is one of the favorite places in Central Park for wedding pictures and romantic walks.

The fountain features bronze figures in the middle, surrounded by a blue stone lower basin. Sculptor Emma Stebbins who created the fountain was the first woman to receive a sculptural commission in New York City.
(source: www.vacationidea.com/new_york_city/bethesda_fountain_central_park.html)

Scope of Project

The Invitation is a project that aims to observe a public space and build an installation/tool that invites the user for to interact with. The interaction must somehow enhance or minimize the types of interactions people already have at the space. The finished product must be purely visual with no inclusion of sound or words.

The process will involve the study of a public space, the various interactions between people who come there and their responses to the environment. Research will be used to the generate concepts for the invitation, which then will be prototyped and tested in the said space.

This blog is a documentation of our process.