daniel schulze: for those who see

'for those who see' by daniel schulze


'for those who see',  is an installation by german designer daniel schulze that
features a 7 by 7 grid of concrete block each emitting synchronized signals of smoke.

according to schulze, the digital bit is everywhere, the pixel widely spread. however,
as an isolated signal they are worthless. only the unity of pixels gives significance
to digital data and potential beauty. in this project, schulze tried to find a means to
allow each 'pixel' to interact with other pixels, thus, helping to form a picture.



image © designboom


the sensuous experience of humans is based on electromagnetic waves. though four of
the human senses are not affected by light, the sense of sight is rated as the strongest
of all. for schulze, it was interesting that the same physical wave that allows humans
to see is used, in another frequency, for the invisible transfer of digital data. in discovering
this, data and vision, perception and invisibility, together assumed an interesting coexistence
for this designer.




video demo of 'for those who see'



detail of concrete blocks
image © designboom


the installation 'for those who see' draws the attention on this relation, an invisible
phenomenon is designed to become a visually sensible 'pixel'. in a rectangular box
pressure is created by a speaker. this pressure is vortexing the air at a perfectly circular
opening whereby a vortex ring develops. the energy affiliated by the sound adds an
impulse to the ring – invisible, as the sound itself. only fog demonstrates this aesthetic
phenomenon. once activated the vortex ring moves linearly in the air, where after a short
moment it decreases in velocity and slowly dissolves.



orchestrated smoke signals


a matrix of 7 by 7 boxes individually releases smoke in the air and plays with audiences'
visual perception as they connects the single rings, in the short moment of their appearance,
to patterns, surfaces, symbols or bodies. the installation also seeks to offer a moment of
visual freedom: corresponding to the focus of the observer. one time it may be the overall
picture, another time it might be the individual fragment, which invites contemplation and
draws attention to something that may have remained invisible before.



image © designboom


'for those who see' is currently being exhibited at DMY international design festival berlin 2010.



detail



software built using processing, which allows schulze to control the intensity and frequency of emitted smoke signals
image © designboom



daniel schulze
portrait © designboom