The work of Olafur Eliasson and Carsten Höller are prime examples of artists working with perceptual systems in which the viewers become active participants. This could be called 'Perceptual Art' but this term is not widely used, and it has been in a limited sense referring to artwork using optical illusion. In light of this, searching for an umbrella term for artwork that uses experiential and multisensory elements, I stumbled across the term 'Somaesthetics' "an interdisciplinary field whose roots are in philosophical theory, somaesthetics offers an integrative conceptual framework and a menu of methodologies not only for better understanding our somatic experience but also for improving the quality of our bodily perception, performance, and presentation " [1] first coined by Richard Shusterman in 1996 There is
Month: November 2017
God Helmet
Neurologist Michael Persinger created the God Helmet, an actual helmet modified with electrical coils that can create electromagnetic fields in the wearer's temporal lobes that induces "religious" experiences in the people who put it on. "This is a device to investigate whether religious, spiritual, and mystical experiences had a natural rather than a supernatural source. He speculates that we are somehow programmed so that they can generate religious experiences via our brain's internal processes." I was interested in this experiment because of its use of sensory deprivation and the fact it would be relatively easy to recreate [see my DIY neurostimulation attempt 2009] for my Enki project. My plan was to drive it with frequencies generated by my electric fish [a low
Auditory illusion
Diana Deutsch developed some fascinating auditory illusions. These include the phenomenon of 'speech to song' whereby repeating loops of spoken word suddenly begin to sound like a song. In another illusion, 'phantom words' new words emerge from repeating fragments of words. To experience these all you need are headphones as the a stereo effect is essential, here is the link to her work.… Speech to song http://deutsch.ucsd.edu/psychology/pages.php?i=212 Phantom Words http://deutsch.ucsd.edu/psychology/pages.php?i=211 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWzt1bI8AZ0 A nice example of sine wave speech from Joe Banks [Disinformation] has written about psychoacoustics in his book https://rorschachaudio.com/ I was lucky to meet him at The Sensorium of Animals workshop. "The McGurk effect" is a perceptual illusion that mixes a sound with the visual cue of a different sound, We see the mouth move and hear/see a mismatched sound, check out what happens... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFPtc8BVdJk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uHDMc4TEU8 This
Galvanic sensors
Images of my first GSR [Galvanic Skin Response] sensor hacked from a toy lie detector circuit works well but currently looking for better DIY versions to use in experiments. More research on this to be posted soon.
Acupuncture, brainwaves, and electric fish
Some documentation from a day working with Greg Byatt developing a system to work with the IBVA [Brainwave visulisation] interface. Such as attaching the Electric signal discharge output from the Electric Fish to acupuncture pads placed on our arms, to see if we could perceive the signal and also seeing how the fish behaved. No conclusive results. More time needed! In preparation for the next Enki event, we spent the day testing the neuro-graphic interface; as an experiment, we patched a strong frequency via MIDI to a MAX patch so our brains were modulating all kinds of strange sounds. Later this will combine with the Enki interface as a form of feedback. In this image you can see the graphics of the brain activity and
Enki Manchester Science Museum
Some of the early experiments for the Enki project at Museum of Science and Technology Manchester 2007... We recorded brainwave data and monitored the behaviour of the electric fish during the experiment. The electrical activity of the fish is experienced as sound and light via ENKI (a stroboscopic high frequency led placed close to eyelid) and the natural binaural frequencies produced by the interaction and communication between Black Ghost Knife fish. The participant's bio-electric field was connected to the aquarium allowing the fish to sense a human (bio)electric image or presence. Museum of Science and Industry Manchester, 7th October 2006
Miniature rubber hand experiment
I bought this miniature rubber hand from the welcome trust shop and tried a quick experiment with my 8-year-old son on the train home. I was amazed it seemed to work almost instantaneously. I wonder if it's his extremely tactile nature makes him susceptible to the illusion? In relating to my ideas around experimenting with a clay hand in place of the traditional rubber hand, I went to see the 'Votive offerings' display. The objects are of Roman origin and are made from terracotta, It is believed that there were created in order to cure elements ranging from badness to more serious decreases relating to the body part [intestines, sexual organs, limbs, hair]. these were them thought to have been thrown into
My experience of the ‘strange face illusion’
I had read about this experiment by which staring at one's own reflection in a mirror in a darkened room for some time, can induce vivid hallucinations. For purposes of research, I had to try it. I found my bathroom could meet the following requirements... "... a quiet room dimly lit by a 25 W incandescent light. The lamp was placed on the floor behind the observer so that it was not visible either directly or in the mirror. A relatively large mirror (0.5 m60.5 m) was placed about 0.4 m in front of the observer. The luminance of the reflected face image within the mirror was about 0.2 cd mÿ2 and this level allowed detailed perception of fine face traits but
Inverted vision experiments
An early experiment in 'perceptual plasticity' was conducted by Psychologist George Stratton in1896. He used his inverted vision goggles, over a period of 8 days, and over time adapted to the point where he was able to function normally. When the glasses were removed, it took some time for him to adapt back to seeing the world as normal without them. See also A lesser-known experiment over three days in 1899 used a set of mirrors to view his whole body as if tilted by 90 degrees. He describes interesting motor control anomalies and even an experience which he describes as an 'out of body experience'. Currently, I am searching for more information and documentation on this experiment. Theodor Erismann (1883-1961) and Ivo Kohler