Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
This sculpture builds on the ideas begun in a previous interactive work called Songlines, except that the sensors embedded in this structure trigger the production of entire words instead of single phonemes from the English language.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
There are 28 sensor buttons embedded into the inner walls of this aqua resin-coated booth structure.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
Each sensor triggers a different part of speech - single or plural nouns, adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, present, past and future tense verbs, and so on. The sensors are linked to a set of prerecorded words that correspond to each category. The list is contained in a Max MSP program, so that new words are produced on each subsequent trigger.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
The booth at SeaTac International Airport. The programming includes two modes of interaction. One is the “freeform” poetry produced by simply moving your body around inside the booth and randomly triggering different words.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
The booth at SeaTac International Airport, close up. In the second programming mode, people can push a “Follow the Poets” button and set in motion a kind of dance machine effect. Visitors follow a light pattern that represents the poems of famous poets parsed into their basic grammatical structure and coded into Max MSP. Upon pushing the button, the program lights up the sensor for the part of speech corresponding to the first word of the model poem, then the second and so on. When each illuminated sensor is touched it uses one of the random library words in the correct category, effectively creating the same grammatical structure as the original poem but with a completely different meaning.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
The booth at the Seattle Center. The sites for installing the Poetry Machine were chosen based on the likelihood of a high level of public interaction. They were all places where people would be likely to have some time on their hands and be disposed to explore something new.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
The booth at the Seattle Center. The Poetry Machine was very popular at this location, especially with children – many of whom would squeeze into the booth together to play with the words.
Poetry Machine: 7’ 6” x 4’ x 4’. Expanded foam, Aqua resin, sensors, battery power, microprocessors, computer and sound systems, Seattle, WA :: 2005.
The booth in the foyer of On the Boards theatre. Although the Poetry Machine was designed to be portable, it was actually much heavier than had been imagined at the outset, and venues with stairs and narrow doorways were quite a challenge to navigate. Any future models would be built with wheels attached!