Anna Weisling | Georgia Institute of Technology (original) (raw)
Papers by Anna Weisling
This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual... more This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual artist (known within this paper as a "visualist") and electronic musician. With the specific goal of enabling expressive real-time visual performance in conjunction with live electronic music, the interface draws from methodologies and design practices informing interaction design, HCI, and experimental music practices [7, 16, 20]. The affordances and general design techniques of the interface are described, and an initial reflection on the performative experience is presented, considering both the visualist's and musician's perspectives. What begins to emerge from this design experience is a core set of issues and values for performers working with media technology; the Distaff suggests ways we might approach such issues with expressivity, collaboration, and physical engagement in mind.
Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may e... more Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may encourage members of visitor groups to be supportive and cooperative when engaging together with exhibits. However, as participant groups explore the concepts of the exhibit, interruptions, conflicts, or disagreements may result. We collectively label this social tension as discord. This paper studies discord among family groups interacting with TuneTable, a museum exhibit designed to promote middle school students' interest in and learning of basic computing concepts (e.g. loops, conditionals) through music programming. We analyzed video recordings of each participant group and found that discord often appears alongside three markers of high engagement: a) complex physical manipulation of exhibit components; b) conversation demonstrating an in-depth understanding of how the exhibit works; and c) instances of collaboration between group members. Our findings suggest that certain types of discord could potentially be indicators of productive learning experiences at museum exhibits related to computing. In addition, when designing informal learning experiences for computing education, our findings suggest that discord is a potential trigger for deeper engagement that warrants further exploration.
Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becomin... more Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becoming more prevalent in museums as a way of promoting opportunities for exploratory learningthrough-doing (e.g. [15, 32, 18]). However, there is still a need for new techniques for understanding how physical interaction relates to engagement and creative expression in order to both evaluate exhibits and iterate on their design. This article reports on a study of how family groups physically interact in a museum environment with a specific co-creative exhibit-TuneTable. We relate observable markers of physical interaction with stages of engagement/expression based in the literature and identify several different trajectories of participant engagement and creative expression as they navigate the exhibit. We explore what these trajectories tell us about the types of inquiry and experimentation that TuneTable supports and discuss design implications. This paper's main contribution is a deep study of how physical markers reveal trajectories of creative engagement within a specific co-creative installation.
New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2018
This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining ... more This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining insight into compositional and performance practices of contemporary audiovisual practitioners. The survey gathered information regarding how practitioners relate aural and visual media in their work, and how compositional and performance practices involving multiple modalities might differ from other practices. Discussed here are three themes: compositional approaches, transparency and audience knowledge, and error and risk, which emerged from participants' responses. We believe these themes contribute to a discussion within the NIME community regarding unique challenges and objectives presented when working with multiple media.
Interactions, Oct 25, 2018
Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction
Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences betw... more Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences between distinct media modes, particularly those works which combine audio and video. Often, the process of creating and executing such performances involves mapping schemes which are encased within the digital system, producing content which is tightly synchronized but with relationships which can feel rigid and unexpressive. Within this paper we present a collaborative process between visualist and musician, which builds toward a method for promoting co-creativity in multimedia performance and prioritizes the performer's physical presence and interaction with digital content. Through the development of two autonomous systems, a novel physical interface and an interactive music system, we summarize our creative process of co-exploration of system capabilities, and extended periods of experimentation and exploration. From this experience, we offer an early-stage framework for approaching engaging digital audiovisual relationships in live performance settings.
Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences betw... more Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences between distinct media modes, particularly those works which combine audio and video. Often, the process of creating and executing such performances involves mapping schemes which are encased within the digital system, producing content which is tightly synchronized but with relationships which can feel rigid and unexpressive. Within this paper we present a collaborative process between visualist and musician, which builds toward a method for promoting co-creativity in multimedia performance and prioritizes the performer’s physical presence and interaction with digital content. Through the development of two autonomous systems, a novel physical interface and an interactive music system, we summarize our creative process of co-exploration of system capabilities, and extended periods of experimentation and exploration. From this experience, we offer an early-stage framework for approaching eng...
USING THE NULL/VOID INTERFACE Step 1: Set up your performance system/instrument as usual. Then, c... more USING THE NULL/VOID INTERFACE Step 1: Set up your performance system/instrument as usual. Then, connect your 1/4" audio output to the RCA audio inputs on the back of the null/void interface using the included cables. Step 2: Power the null/void interface using the USB-C power supply (included). You will see the meters do a "swipe." This is for calibration purposes. Step 3: After roughly 30 seconds, you will hear a startup sound and see the meters do a second swipe. When the swipe is finished, the system is ready. Step 4: Using the three knobs, set your resource banks for pitch, amplitude, and time parameters. MIN TIME: When the time knob is at minimum position (turned all the way counterclockwise), your clock will be set to roughly 4 minutes. MAX TIME: When the time knob is at maximum position (turned all the way clockwise), your clock will be set to roughly 20 minutes. PITCH/AMPLITUDE: In the minimum position, you will have few pitches and dynamic changes, and they will deplete quickly. In the maximum position, you will have a larger resource bank, which will deplete more slowly over time.
This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining ... more This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining insight into compositional and performance practices of contemporary audiovisual practitioners. The survey gathered information regarding how practitioners relate aural and visual media in their work, and how compositional and performance practices involving multiple modalities might differ from other practices. Discussed here are three themes: compositional approaches, transparency and audience knowledge, and error and risk, which emerged from participants' responses. We believe these themes contribute to a discussion within the NIME community regarding unique challenges and objectives presented when working with multiple media.
Proceedings of the 2019 on Creativity and Cognition, 2019
Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becomin... more Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becoming more prevalent in museums as a way of promoting opportunities for exploratory learningthrough-doing (e.g. [15, 32, 18]). However, there is still a need for new techniques for understanding how physical interaction relates to engagement and creative expression in order to both evaluate exhibits and iterate on their design. This article reports on a study of how family groups physically interact in a museum environment with a specific co-creative exhibit-TuneTable. We relate observable markers of physical interaction with stages of engagement/expression based in the literature and identify several different trajectories of participant engagement and creative expression as they navigate the exhibit. We explore what these trajectories tell us about the types of inquiry and experimentation that TuneTable supports and discuss design implications. This paper's main contribution is a deep study of how physical markers reveal trajectories of creative engagement within a specific co-creative installation.
Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2017
In this paper we present a preliminary design and initial assessment of a computational musical t... more In this paper we present a preliminary design and initial assessment of a computational musical tabletop exhibit for children and teenagers at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA). We explore how participatory workshops can promote hands-on learning of computational concepts through making music. We also use a hands-on approach to assess informal learning based on maker interviews. Maker interviews serve to subjectively capture impromptu reflections of the visitors' achievements from casual interactions with the exhibit. Findings from our workshops and preliminary assessment indicate that experiencing and taking ownership of tangible programming on a musical tabletop is related to: ownership of failure, ownership through collaboration, ownership of the design, and ownership of code. Overall, this work suggests how to better support ownership of computational concepts in tangible programming, which can inform how to design self-learning experiences at the museum, and future trajectories between the museum and the school or home.
Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016
This paper describes the rest is construction, an interactive installation which seeks to emulate... more This paper describes the rest is construction, an interactive installation which seeks to emulate the experience of living with anxiety to a viewer through haptic and visual interactions. The use of haptic and display technologies will be discussed, particularly as they relate to the visual and technological aesthetics of the piece.
Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2019
Craft has emerged as an important reference point for HCI. To avoid a misrepresenting, all-encomp... more Craft has emerged as an important reference point for HCI. To avoid a misrepresenting, all-encompassing application of craft to interaction design, this position paper first discerns craft from HCI. It develops material engagement and mediation as differentiating factors to reposition craft in relation to tangible interaction design. The aim is to clarify craft's relation to interaction design and to open up new opportunities and questions that follow from this repositioning.
Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference, 2020
Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may e... more Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may encourage members of visitor groups to be supportive and cooperative when engaging together with exhibits. However, as participant groups explore the concepts of the exhibit, interruptions, conflicts, or disagreements may result. We collectively label this social tension as discord. This paper studies discord among family groups interacting with TuneTable, a museum exhibit designed to promote middle school students' interest in and learning of basic computing concepts (e.g. loops, conditionals) through music programming. We analyzed video recordings of each participant group and found that discord often appears alongside three markers of high engagement: a) complex physical manipulation of exhibit components; b) conversation demonstrating an in-depth understanding of how the exhibit works; and c) instances of collaboration between group members. Our findings suggest that certain types of discord could potentially be indicators of productive learning experiences at museum exhibits related to computing. In addition, when designing informal learning experiences for computing education, our findings suggest that discord is a potential trigger for deeper engagement that warrants further exploration.
Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, 2017
This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual... more This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual artist (known within this paper as a "visualist") and electronic musician. With the specific goal of enabling expressive real-time visual performance in conjunction with live electronic music, the interface draws from methodologies and design practices informing interaction design, HCI, and experimental music practices [7, 16, 20]. The affordances and general design techniques of the interface are described, and an initial reflection on the performative experience is presented, considering both the visualist's and musician's perspectives. What begins to emerge from this design experience is a core set of issues and values for performers working with media technology; the Distaff suggests ways we might approach such issues with expressivity, collaboration, and physical engagement in mind.
This paper explores the research, development, construction, and implementation of a new visual i... more This paper explores the research, development, construction, and implementation of a new visual instrument. Although new musical instruments are seeing constant innovation and progress, they are steeped in years of practice and pedagogy. Tools designed with the purpose of driving visual systems are rarer and present unique issues and capabilities. By analyzing basic interactions such as tilting and rotating an object and the purposeful use of gesture and manipulation, a tool for 'playing' visuals in a performative arena was produced, with capabilities evocative of musical expression. The capabilities of the resulting DEVICE (De-constructible Visual Instrument for Creative Expression) are discussed and explored in this paper.
This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual... more This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual artist (known within this paper as a "visualist") and electronic musician. With the specific goal of enabling expressive real-time visual performance in conjunction with live electronic music, the interface draws from methodologies and design practices informing interaction design, HCI, and experimental music practices [7, 16, 20]. The affordances and general design techniques of the interface are described, and an initial reflection on the performative experience is presented, considering both the visualist's and musician's perspectives. What begins to emerge from this design experience is a core set of issues and values for performers working with media technology; the Distaff suggests ways we might approach such issues with expressivity, collaboration, and physical engagement in mind.
Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may e... more Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may encourage members of visitor groups to be supportive and cooperative when engaging together with exhibits. However, as participant groups explore the concepts of the exhibit, interruptions, conflicts, or disagreements may result. We collectively label this social tension as discord. This paper studies discord among family groups interacting with TuneTable, a museum exhibit designed to promote middle school students' interest in and learning of basic computing concepts (e.g. loops, conditionals) through music programming. We analyzed video recordings of each participant group and found that discord often appears alongside three markers of high engagement: a) complex physical manipulation of exhibit components; b) conversation demonstrating an in-depth understanding of how the exhibit works; and c) instances of collaboration between group members. Our findings suggest that certain types of discord could potentially be indicators of productive learning experiences at museum exhibits related to computing. In addition, when designing informal learning experiences for computing education, our findings suggest that discord is a potential trigger for deeper engagement that warrants further exploration.
Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becomin... more Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becoming more prevalent in museums as a way of promoting opportunities for exploratory learningthrough-doing (e.g. [15, 32, 18]). However, there is still a need for new techniques for understanding how physical interaction relates to engagement and creative expression in order to both evaluate exhibits and iterate on their design. This article reports on a study of how family groups physically interact in a museum environment with a specific co-creative exhibit-TuneTable. We relate observable markers of physical interaction with stages of engagement/expression based in the literature and identify several different trajectories of participant engagement and creative expression as they navigate the exhibit. We explore what these trajectories tell us about the types of inquiry and experimentation that TuneTable supports and discuss design implications. This paper's main contribution is a deep study of how physical markers reveal trajectories of creative engagement within a specific co-creative installation.
New Interfaces for Musical Expression, 2018
This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining ... more This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining insight into compositional and performance practices of contemporary audiovisual practitioners. The survey gathered information regarding how practitioners relate aural and visual media in their work, and how compositional and performance practices involving multiple modalities might differ from other practices. Discussed here are three themes: compositional approaches, transparency and audience knowledge, and error and risk, which emerged from participants' responses. We believe these themes contribute to a discussion within the NIME community regarding unique challenges and objectives presented when working with multiple media.
Interactions, Oct 25, 2018
Proceedings of the Twelfth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction
Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences betw... more Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences between distinct media modes, particularly those works which combine audio and video. Often, the process of creating and executing such performances involves mapping schemes which are encased within the digital system, producing content which is tightly synchronized but with relationships which can feel rigid and unexpressive. Within this paper we present a collaborative process between visualist and musician, which builds toward a method for promoting co-creativity in multimedia performance and prioritizes the performer's physical presence and interaction with digital content. Through the development of two autonomous systems, a novel physical interface and an interactive music system, we summarize our creative process of co-exploration of system capabilities, and extended periods of experimentation and exploration. From this experience, we offer an early-stage framework for approaching engaging digital audiovisual relationships in live performance settings.
Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences betw... more Live performances which involve digital technology often strive toward clear correspondences between distinct media modes, particularly those works which combine audio and video. Often, the process of creating and executing such performances involves mapping schemes which are encased within the digital system, producing content which is tightly synchronized but with relationships which can feel rigid and unexpressive. Within this paper we present a collaborative process between visualist and musician, which builds toward a method for promoting co-creativity in multimedia performance and prioritizes the performer’s physical presence and interaction with digital content. Through the development of two autonomous systems, a novel physical interface and an interactive music system, we summarize our creative process of co-exploration of system capabilities, and extended periods of experimentation and exploration. From this experience, we offer an early-stage framework for approaching eng...
USING THE NULL/VOID INTERFACE Step 1: Set up your performance system/instrument as usual. Then, c... more USING THE NULL/VOID INTERFACE Step 1: Set up your performance system/instrument as usual. Then, connect your 1/4" audio output to the RCA audio inputs on the back of the null/void interface using the included cables. Step 2: Power the null/void interface using the USB-C power supply (included). You will see the meters do a "swipe." This is for calibration purposes. Step 3: After roughly 30 seconds, you will hear a startup sound and see the meters do a second swipe. When the swipe is finished, the system is ready. Step 4: Using the three knobs, set your resource banks for pitch, amplitude, and time parameters. MIN TIME: When the time knob is at minimum position (turned all the way counterclockwise), your clock will be set to roughly 4 minutes. MAX TIME: When the time knob is at maximum position (turned all the way clockwise), your clock will be set to roughly 20 minutes. PITCH/AMPLITUDE: In the minimum position, you will have few pitches and dynamic changes, and they will deplete quickly. In the maximum position, you will have a larger resource bank, which will deplete more slowly over time.
This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining ... more This paper presents a brief overview of an online survey conducted with the objective of gaining insight into compositional and performance practices of contemporary audiovisual practitioners. The survey gathered information regarding how practitioners relate aural and visual media in their work, and how compositional and performance practices involving multiple modalities might differ from other practices. Discussed here are three themes: compositional approaches, transparency and audience knowledge, and error and risk, which emerged from participants' responses. We believe these themes contribute to a discussion within the NIME community regarding unique challenges and objectives presented when working with multiple media.
Proceedings of the 2019 on Creativity and Cognition, 2019
Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becomin... more Co-creative (i.e. collaboratively creative) activities involving physical interaction are becoming more prevalent in museums as a way of promoting opportunities for exploratory learningthrough-doing (e.g. [15, 32, 18]). However, there is still a need for new techniques for understanding how physical interaction relates to engagement and creative expression in order to both evaluate exhibits and iterate on their design. This article reports on a study of how family groups physically interact in a museum environment with a specific co-creative exhibit-TuneTable. We relate observable markers of physical interaction with stages of engagement/expression based in the literature and identify several different trajectories of participant engagement and creative expression as they navigate the exhibit. We explore what these trajectories tell us about the types of inquiry and experimentation that TuneTable supports and discuss design implications. This paper's main contribution is a deep study of how physical markers reveal trajectories of creative engagement within a specific co-creative installation.
Proceedings of the Eleventh International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2017
In this paper we present a preliminary design and initial assessment of a computational musical t... more In this paper we present a preliminary design and initial assessment of a computational musical tabletop exhibit for children and teenagers at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA). We explore how participatory workshops can promote hands-on learning of computational concepts through making music. We also use a hands-on approach to assess informal learning based on maker interviews. Maker interviews serve to subjectively capture impromptu reflections of the visitors' achievements from casual interactions with the exhibit. Findings from our workshops and preliminary assessment indicate that experiencing and taking ownership of tangible programming on a musical tabletop is related to: ownership of failure, ownership through collaboration, ownership of the design, and ownership of code. Overall, this work suggests how to better support ownership of computational concepts in tangible programming, which can inform how to design self-learning experiences at the museum, and future trajectories between the museum and the school or home.
Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2016
This paper describes the rest is construction, an interactive installation which seeks to emulate... more This paper describes the rest is construction, an interactive installation which seeks to emulate the experience of living with anxiety to a viewer through haptic and visual interactions. The use of haptic and display technologies will be discussed, particularly as they relate to the visual and technological aesthetics of the piece.
Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction, 2019
Craft has emerged as an important reference point for HCI. To avoid a misrepresenting, all-encomp... more Craft has emerged as an important reference point for HCI. To avoid a misrepresenting, all-encompassing application of craft to interaction design, this position paper first discerns craft from HCI. It develops material engagement and mediation as differentiating factors to reposition craft in relation to tangible interaction design. The aim is to clarify craft's relation to interaction design and to open up new opportunities and questions that follow from this repositioning.
Proceedings of the Interaction Design and Children Conference, 2020
Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may e... more Museum visitors often come into the museum space receptive to exploring new ideas, and this may encourage members of visitor groups to be supportive and cooperative when engaging together with exhibits. However, as participant groups explore the concepts of the exhibit, interruptions, conflicts, or disagreements may result. We collectively label this social tension as discord. This paper studies discord among family groups interacting with TuneTable, a museum exhibit designed to promote middle school students' interest in and learning of basic computing concepts (e.g. loops, conditionals) through music programming. We analyzed video recordings of each participant group and found that discord often appears alongside three markers of high engagement: a) complex physical manipulation of exhibit components; b) conversation demonstrating an in-depth understanding of how the exhibit works; and c) instances of collaboration between group members. Our findings suggest that certain types of discord could potentially be indicators of productive learning experiences at museum exhibits related to computing. In addition, when designing informal learning experiences for computing education, our findings suggest that discord is a potential trigger for deeper engagement that warrants further exploration.
Proceedings of the 2017 Conference on Designing Interactive Systems, 2017
This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual... more This paper presents an interface designed for an interdisciplinary collaboration between a visual artist (known within this paper as a "visualist") and electronic musician. With the specific goal of enabling expressive real-time visual performance in conjunction with live electronic music, the interface draws from methodologies and design practices informing interaction design, HCI, and experimental music practices [7, 16, 20]. The affordances and general design techniques of the interface are described, and an initial reflection on the performative experience is presented, considering both the visualist's and musician's perspectives. What begins to emerge from this design experience is a core set of issues and values for performers working with media technology; the Distaff suggests ways we might approach such issues with expressivity, collaboration, and physical engagement in mind.
This paper explores the research, development, construction, and implementation of a new visual i... more This paper explores the research, development, construction, and implementation of a new visual instrument. Although new musical instruments are seeing constant innovation and progress, they are steeped in years of practice and pedagogy. Tools designed with the purpose of driving visual systems are rarer and present unique issues and capabilities. By analyzing basic interactions such as tilting and rotating an object and the purposeful use of gesture and manipulation, a tool for 'playing' visuals in a performative arena was produced, with capabilities evocative of musical expression. The capabilities of the resulting DEVICE (De-constructible Visual Instrument for Creative Expression) are discussed and explored in this paper.
This paper describes the rest is construction, an interactive installation which seeks to emulate... more This paper describes the rest is construction, an interactive installation which seeks to emulate the experience of living with anxiety to a viewer through haptic and visual interactions. The use of haptic and display technologies will be discussed, particularly as they relate to the visual and technological aesthetics of the piece.
We Used to be Friends: Disparity between branching performative technologies
Because the term can technically represent both an act or discipline and a measurement of efficie... more Because the term can technically represent both an act or discipline and a measurement of efficiency or success, performance has been analyzed and defined in disciplines ranging from dance to finance, humancomputer interaction to engineering, and everything in-between. As a tradition, whether within the formally academic humanities or more experimental art movements, performance has embodied political, cultural, and artistic climates, often as a vehicle for revolution, and has been studied accordingly. Admittedly, there are a plethora of viewpoints regarding what performance is and how it is realized, from the abstract to the formulaic, but within the scope of this paper I will be looking very briefly at three broad categories of historical approaches to performance studies: cultural, corporeal, and cognitive. I will focus on these diverse categories as they have occurred mainly in academic and research capacities, as and their roots, deep in the fields of cognitive science, psychology, ethnography, and anthropology, shape the humanities-based performance studies field that we engage with today.
This article seeks to illustrate a method of prototyping that not only addresses existing issues ... more This article seeks to illustrate a method of prototyping that not only addresses existing issues within experimental performance practices, but also opens a dialogue between communities regarding the role of visual content within new media work. Drawing upon reflective design practices in particular, drome will identify, through its initial conceptualization and prototyping stages, the ways in which constructing a novel physical instrument can shape a piece, re-situate preconceptions, and foster new creative relationships between artists with an emphasis on individual and collaborative expression.