The BYSTANDER FIELD: immersive feedback environments for exhibiting and dramatically interacting with semiotic, aesthetic and emotional patterns in archived imagery.

Funding: 2003: $30,000
2004: $30,000

Funding or Partner Organisation: Australian Research Council (ARC Linkage Projects)
Australian Centre for the Moving Image

Start year: 2004

Summary: The BYSTANDER FIELD investigates dramatic new ways to exhibit, interrogate and interpret archived imagery. Immersing visitors bodily in a turbulent environment of user-activated images, sounds and texts, all cross-referenced and inter-dependent, the project encourages interactive comprehension of cultural collections and the societies that spawned them. The research method is iterative and evolutionary: critique of existing literature, designs and technologies; repeated, rapid prototyping leading to test-exhibit; final critique of user-experience; report on knowledge generated. Outcomes are theoretical and practical: reports delivering new knowledge; audience-tested systems of display and interpretation which are scaleable to several museological and architectural scenarios.

Publications:

Gibson, RJ 2006, 'The Rise of Digital Multimedia Systems', Cultural Studies Review, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 141-151.

Gibson, RJ 2005, 'Exhibiting: Wonders of the world on show' in Davison, G & Webber, K (eds), Yesterday's Tomorrows: The Powerhouse Museum and Its Precursors 1880 - 2005, Powerhouse Publishing in association with UNSW Press, Sydney, Australia, pp. 54-63.

Gibson, RJ 1970, 'Changescapes', IDEA Journal 2005, Interior Design Educators Association (IDEA) Conference, IDEA (Interior Design/Interior Architecture Educators Association), Melbourne, Australia, pp. 195-206.

Kan, MM, Robertson, TJ, Muller, E & Sadler, KA 1970, 'Designing a movement-based interactive experience using empirically derived personas and scenarios', Proceedings of the workshop: Approaches to movement-based interaction, Dicennial Aarhus Conference Approaches to movement-based interaction, IDWoP, Aarhus, Denmark, pp. 16-20.

Loke, L, Robertson, TJ & Mansfield, T 1970, 'Moving bodies, social selves: movement-orientated personas and scenarios', Proceedings of the OZCHI 2005, Australian Computer Human Interaction Conference, CHISIG, Canberra, Aust, pp. 1-10.

Gibson, RJ 1970, 'Agility and Attunement', Empire ruins and Networks, Empire Ruins and Networks, ACMI, Australian Centre for Moving Images, Melbourne, Australia.

Gibson, RJ 1970, 'The Rise of Digital Multimedia Systems', Interactions: Systems, Practice and Theory, Interactions: Systems, Practice and Theory, Creativity and Cognition Stdio Press, Sydney, Australia, pp. 271-282.

Keywords: museum display heritage interpretation emergent narrative electronic arts digital aesthetics public architecture

FOR Codes: Multimedia, Other Cinema and Electronic Arts, Museum Studies, The creative arts, Understanding Australia’s past, Heritage not elsewhere classified, Understanding Australia's Past, Interactive Media, The Creative Arts (incl. Graphics and Craft), Film, Television and Digital Media not elsewhere classified, Screen and digital media not elsewhere classified, Critical heritage, museum and archive studies, Understanding Australia¿¿¿s past, The creative arts

Acknowledgement of Country

UTS acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, the Boorooberongal people of the Dharug Nation, the Bidiagal people and the Gamaygal people, upon whose ancestral lands our university stands. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders both past and present, acknowledging them as the traditional custodians of knowledge for these lands.