As a design company, we often explain interactivity in terms of websites, social media, ad research, networking and analytics. We counsel our clients to watch, participate in, measure and react to their online conversations. But, do they accept what transpires when they interact without really understanding the process?
Talk to Me, an interactive exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, provides deliciously wonderful explanations of the process of our interactivity, as well as an invitation to participate. Read more.
Reading Michael Silverberg’s review of the Talk to Me exhibit titled “What we talk about when we talk about objects” jogged my memory of a ringing phone and our, then, one year old quickly grabbing the receiver. I watched as she heard a voice and immediately began searching around the phone and under the table, trying to understand how her grandmother was somehow fitted into the object in her hand. But as her grandmother continued speaking, without understanding she smiled, made peace with her confusion, and accepted what the object offered. Among the featured artists of Talk to Me are two truly incredible designers, Multitouch Barcelona and Susan Woolf, who have been inspired by wondering, “How does that communication process work?” much as my daughter did years ago; much as we do everyday.
1. In response to the query, “Can an interaction with a computer be personal?” you will especially enjoy the work of design studio, Multitouch Bacelona. Their interactive video response, shows, tells and intrigues.
2. To answer the query, “Am I observing a shared pattern of hand signals used to communicate with cabs?” artist Susan Woolf researched and documented a complex and uniquely South African gestural language. She wrote Taxi Hand Signs with an edition for the blind and designed the first South African postal stamps with a readable raised surface. View her video here.
Whether we enable or just faithfully depend on them, we do communicate with objects all of the time; using humor, intelligence, observation, participation and creativity, the Talk to Me exhibits help us understand how.
Note: As an added treat before you leave the museum site, scroll down for the children’s responses.
