Interactive Plant Growing

Source: 1992, Christa SOMMERER & Laurent MIGNONNEAU

(collective) Sommerer / Mignonneau

Interactive Plant Growing , 1992 – 1997

Co-workers & Funding

http://www.interface.ufg.ac.at/christa-laurent/WORKS/CONCEPTS/PlantsConcept.html

Mnemosyne

Last updated: 2009-07-22

Documents

Interactive Plant Growing

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Interactive Plant Growing

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Description

"Interactive Plant Growing" is an installation, which deals with the principle of the growth of virtual plant organisms and their change and modification in real time in the 3-dimensional virtual space of a 4D Graphics Computer (Silicon Graphics). These modifications of predefined "artificially living plant organisms" are mainly based on the principle of development and evolution in time. The artificial growing of program - based plants is an expression of the desire to discover the principle of life, which is always defined by the transformations and morphogenesis of certain organisms.
Interactive Plant Growing connects the real time growing of virtual plants in the 3 - dimensional space of the computer to real living plants, which can be touched or approached by human viewers.differentiation.

By touching real plants or moving their hands towards them human viewers can influence and control in real time the virtual growth of 25 and more program - based plants, which are simultaneously displayed on a video screen in front of the viewers. By producing a sensitive interaction with the real plants, the viewers too become part of the installation. They decide how this interaction is translated to the screen and how growth takes place on the screen.
The various distance modulations of the viewer´s hands directly effect the appearance of the virtual plants, as they are ferns, mosses, trees, vines and a cleaning plant ("killer plant").
By sending different data values to the interface (which connects the plants and the growing program), the appearance of the virtual plants can be modified and varied . The viewers can control the size of the virtual plants, direct the rotation, modify the appearance, change the colours and control new positions for the same type of plant.
Each virtual plant species has at least 6 different variations, but generally there are more possibilities than just 25 variations of 5 plants, since the size, colour and translation can be modified for each single plant as well.
All variations ultimately depend on the viewers sensibility to find the different levels of approximation distances, as they are responsible for the different events in growing.
Since it takes some time for the viewer to discover the different levels for modulating and building the virtual plants, he will develop a higher sensitivity and awareness for real plants.
(Christa Sommerer & Laurent Mignonneau)

Keywords

aesthetics
genres
- bioart
  - genetic art
- installations
  - interactive installations
  - mixed reality
  - virtual reality (VR)
subjects
- Art and Science
  - dynamical systems
- Body and Psychology
  - senses
technology
- displays
  - electronic displays
    - projection screens
    - projectors
- interfaces
  - non-electronic interfaces
    - plants (as non-electronic interfaces)

Technology & Material

Hardware

1 Interface
1 Computer
1 Video projector
5 Wooden columns
5 living plants (Cactus, Fern, Ivy, Bush and Moss)

Installation Requirements / Space

1 room (4 x 5 meters Min.)

Interface

1 plant interface for 5 plant
Electric field amplifiers
active filters
Galvanic isolation
Analog to Digital conversion
Serial transmission
5 living plants

Software

Real time 3D rendering according to the plant detection
Plant growth algorithms
Interaction design
made by the artists

Exhibitions & Events

Verführung Licht. Medienkunst im Dialog mit Natur und Gesellschaft(Seductions of Light. Media Art in Dialogue with Nature and Society)

2021

Bibliography

Grau, Oliver. Virtual Art: From Illusion to Immersion. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2003.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Ars Electronica - Facing the Future, , 393-394. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1999.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« edited by F. Magalhães and Diana Domingues, 43. Porto Alegre, Brazil: 1999.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Media Time: WOOD and BYTE: Festival delle nuove tecnologie mulitmediali, edited by M. G. Mattei, 56-61. Bolzano, IT: Centro Audiovisivi, Bolzano, 1999.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In VIDÉOFORMES 98. Culture Contemporaine Arts Video, Nouvelles Technologies, edited by G. Soucheyre, 10-13. Clermont Ferrand: Turbulences Vidéo, 1998.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Arte Virtual - Realidad Plural, edited by Karin OhlenschlägerMonterrey, Mexico: Museo de Monterrey, 1997.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Electra’96, edited by A. EsperøOslo, Norway: Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, 1996.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Ciberfestival 96: imagens do futuro, edited by L. Da Costa and M. Do RosárioLisbon, Portugal: Forum Telecom, 1996.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Images du Futur – L’art interactif, edited by M. Ginette and Hervé Fischer, 30-31. Montreal, Canada: 1995.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Lab 5: International Film, Video and Computer Art Exhibition 1995, edited by Ryszard KluszczynskiWarsaw: 1995.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In ArsLab-I Sensi del Virtuale, Turin, IT: 1995.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing and A-Volve.« In The Interaction ´95, edited by Itsuo SakaneGifu: IAMAS Academy and Softopia, 1995.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« ICC InterCommunication Journal, Japan , no. 7 (January 1994).
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing and A-Volve.« In Christa Sommerer and Laurent Mignonneau, edited by M. KusaharaTokyo, Japan: ICC InterCommunication Center, NTT, 1994.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Arte Virtual - Doce propuestas de Arte Reactivo, edited by Rafael Lozano-HemmerMadrid: Electa Edition, 1994.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Ars Electronica 1993 - Genetische Kunst - Künstlisches Leben / Genetic Art - Artificial Life, edited by Karl Gerbel and Peter Weibel, 408-414. Vienna: PVS Verleger, 1993.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In interActiva –Internationales Festival für Interaktive Medien, edited by Andrea ZappKöln, DE: 1993.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« ICC InterCommunication Journal , no. 6 (October 1993).
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In FISEA Fourth International Symposium on Electronic Art, edited by Päivi Talasmaa and Erkki HuhtamoMinneapolis, USA: ISEA Publications, 1993.
Sommerer, Christa and Laurent Mignonneau. »Interactive Plant Growing.« In Siggraph ´93 Visual Proceedings, , 164-165. New York: ACM, 1993.
Weibel, Peter. »Eigenwelt der Apparatewelt.« Rogue 17 (December 1992): 12-15.

21 publications