3.1.3. Description of the ‘Kurort’ project
The ‘Kurort’ [233] project is based on the health spa phenomenon also known as 'Kurort’. A ‘Kurort’ traditionally offers visitors individual mental / physical relaxation and recuperation in a sensual healing environment. In this interactive technology augmented version of a ‘Kurort’, Angelika Oei and René Verouden, in collaboration with the V2_Lab team, create a space for relaxing the mind and recuperating memory. The text below, which describes the project, was created in close collaboration with the ‘Kurort’ team.
(Collage 5. Impressions of Kurort by Angelika Oei and Renè Verouden; documentation photos by Jan Sprij © for V2_; visuals by Kurort team)
(Collage 6. aRt&D tem map Kurort)
‘Kurort’ is a non-task-directed, non-competitive, open-scripted environment, and this intention is underlined by the use of placebos (or mock-ups) and make-believe mechanisms. Non-technological objects in the ‘Kurort’ environment break the loop of standard interaction expectations and generate a certain relief in the interaction pattern, as it indicated to the participants that direct interaction (or expectations from the system towards the user) was not a main priority or a requirement for a successful experience. This is a situation known from experience design and brings forward difficulties as seen in today’s H.C.I. Non-technological (or placebo) objects were used to encourage the exploration of the other objects and spaces, as nothing weird, scary or unexpected happened when one interacted with the objects in the space. Although ‘Kurort’ is not task-oriented, it goes too far to state that it is not goal-oriented. On the contrary, ‘Kurort’ has a clear goal. The artists’ goal is to develop a synthetic identity called Lizzie that resides in the digital system and that is able to communicate and express itself in forms of subjective human experience, such as thinking, feeling and mood. In other words, inspired by the psychotherapist impersonated by the Doctor scripts of Eliza by Joseph Weizenbaum in the 1960s, Lizzie mimics an intense human experience. In the different prototypes, a series of crucial ingredients associated with a ‘Kurort’ experience were set up, tested and evaluated, such as feeling at ease and the level of comfort in an unknown situation. In the latter case, simple rules were effectively implemented; for example, the participant is always alone with the system without other people. The system’s synthesised voice was what could be called a comforting ‘friendly’ voice (calming timbre). These elements were all implemented in a subtle way (theatre and stage design) to create a suitable context and atmosphere, enabling play with specific dramatic elements. Oei’s research is inspired by Jennifer Healey and Rosalind Picard’s [234] measuring devices to record facial expressions and differences in physical states that are interpreted for specific feedback in the device’s behaviour. From an artistic perspective, the project builds on a long-standing tradition of staged, participatory theatre. In the Netherlands, experimental and avant-garde theatre flourished in the period of 1965-1991 in the Mickery theatre, where experimental, participatory theatre work by ensembles like the Wooster group [235] was shown; at Time Based Arts[236], and at De Appel where creative minds with multiple professions such as Ulises Carrion [237] experimented with lectures, location-based and mobile performances, and video. Related contemporary artworks include those in the field of mediated participatory theatre and gaming, such as Desert Rain by Blast Theory. [238] The concept of the ‘Kurort’ space, which embodies Lizzy, links to emotional and interactive architecture and stage or space design. Architects such as Kas Oosterhuis and his studio with ‘Parascape’ [239], or NOX and QS Serafijn with their D-Tower [240] project represent forerunners in this field of emotional and responsive architecture. Other mediated interactive and responsive environments include electronic participatory theatre as seen in the work of the Belgium theatre maker Eric Joris [241], and mixed media interactive art with references to ubiquitous computing such as Polar[242] by Marco Pelhan and Carsten Nicolai, and TGardens[243] play spaces by Sha Xin Wei and TGarden team.
The ‘Kurort’ system is built in Max/MSP in a modular fashion and is visible to the visitor as a series of interconnected spaces where he/she can lounge and explore; each space is designed for a (set of) unique interactive experience(s). All prototype environments included real and 'placebo' elements for interaction and measurement. The visitor’s movements were tracked through a video motion tracking system, built in Max/Jitter, and various other activities were measured through sensors or standard input-devices (Wacom-tablet, microphone, webcam). The visitor’s appearances in front of the webcam were captured and stored on a disk, to be used as feedback for subsequent visitors. For the voice of Lizzie, the Mac-OS Speech System was re-purposed, but the intention is to use recorded fragments of a real person speaking in the next environments.
