SHOWS:  Distraction Distraction was made possible in part by the assistance of Mark Billinghurst and the University of Washington's HITLab. Flyer Click for full size image. Setup Lots and lots of wires. Still pretty tired from the Dimension Elevator show two nights back. The pattern canvases must be hung in very precise locations relative to each other so that the 3d models will line up properly between the canvases. Kerstin and Topher worked most of the day, and Mark Billinghurst arrived in time to help with the critical glasses calibration and to solve a few other problems we were facing (like time moving too quickly). We take the ladders down a few minutes after the first guests arrive, and the event begins. Introduction In the front of the space people had an opportunity to explore the technology with which the installation was built. People were able to view the flyers for the show in a new way. While looking at a computer monitor, A camera pointed at the 2d pattern on the back of the flyer evoked a 3d augmented form to be superimposed on the image. It is as if the 3d form were always there, but only visible when viewed through the computer setup. This is the function of the Augmented Reality Toolkit developed by the University of Washington's HITLab and ATR labs in Japan. Kerstin designed the 2d images and 3d forms to coorespond to one another, so that the 3d form was actually an extrusion of the 2d shape on the flyer into 3-space. Once a viewer recognized this relationship, the 2d images took on a new meaning. Installation In a third of the room, six canvases were placed, one on each of three walls, one on the ceiling, one on the floor, and the sixth at the boundry of the installation and the introductory area. The pattern on each canvas facing in towards the others. People took one of the two wired hand-held display-glasses into the space to view the augmented installation. When viewed through the glasses, the room was filled with shapes racing from canvas to canvas. The moving shapes compelled the viewer to follow their path and shift their gaze from pattern to pattern. For those who looked closer, there was a pattern in the distractive noise of flying shapes. Each of the four shapes traversed a triangle around the room, touching down on three of the six canvases. As the evening progressed, people started to play with the technology- placing flyers in the installation area and on their bodies. Takedown Special thanks to Saxon Rawlings, David Craven, and several others for helping us take everything down and packed.