Projects SI 28/The-Calm-Machine

The Calm Machine

Sibyl & Lea

Idea

Both of us have been thinking about belonging, the meaning of home and ways to counteract anxiety in the context of living in a big city surrounded by many people. We have different approaches on how to deal with these feelings. In our machine, we are bringing them together, but in two different parts: the "inner", and the "outer".

For the event, we wanted to make a cozy corner in the space of UBIK to rest and relax. Sibyl worked on an interactive light and sound installation, that invites the audience to be more aware of their senses and surroundings. Lea's walking algorithm printed on postcards then takes the visitors on a walk, to further connect with the immediate space around them. A narrative text guides them through the whole machine, trying to invoke a feeling of calmness and belonging as well as reflective thoughts on the experience of the whole event.

Description

The Calm Machine is a quiet and cozy island in the buzzing and bustling of this event. Hidden away from the other stations, it provides privacy and a moment of peace. Come in, sit down, touch, listen and observe. We then invite you to go for a psychogeographic walk. Walking is a form of reading. Through the act of walking, you interpret and rewrite the city. You are a gear in the mechanics of the Calm Machine—by interacting, you make it come to life! Connect with your senses and surroundings, and perhaps generate a new sensation.

Process

We collected ideas for the event on our own, and after sharing our thoughts in class meetings and discovering our common interests, we teamed up to work together. Sibyl was reading Walking as Research Practice (2022) and Lea was reading Walking and Mapping: Artists as Cartographers (Karen O’Rourke, 2013) at that time. We exchanged thoughts on these books as well as on our feelings regarding the city of Rotterdam and the upcoming event, where our projects would be displayed. Sibyl feels most safe at home and in enclosed spaces, while Lea uses walking as a method to calm down from crowded events. After talking with Marloes, we decided to split our machine into an "inner" and an "outer" part.

Sibyl: The Inner Part

My inner journey moves from insecurity to security.

Why sound?

Each object carries a personal meaning for me.

Sound becomes the way I translate these meanings outward — a language that allows my emotions to be heard rather than explained.

Why lighting?

Lighting shapes the atmosphere.

It creates an immersive experience, like an emotional wave that softens the surroundings and mirrors my inner state.

Audio's Contents:

Yarn—Self-Reflection

Soothing piano music + Car sounds + Sounds of Rotterdam

Steamer—Family

News broadcasts + Mom's voice + Food I ask Mom for

Plants—Life: Seeking Outside

Rustling leaves + Rain sounds + Wind sounds

Friends—Emotional Support

Phone ringtone + Friend's voice

I make a Teller for explanation these for audios.

the explanations of each sound

The Process of Installation:

This flowchart was drawn by Anna from Interaction Studio to help me understand the operational process of the entire installation.

I invite the audience to enter my inner space through touch, listening, and immersion. By physically interacting with the objects and listening to the meanings behind them, everyone can experience the stories carried by each item.

Touching:

I used Touch Board to connect four things, including Yarn, Steamer, Plants and Friends.When people touch the object, it will play the audio.

Lighting:

TouchDesigner's flowchart

I use TouchDesigner to connect the touch board. By touching objects, sounds are generated, which then trigger light signals to control the flickering frequency of the lamp.

NOTE:I used four desk lamps as lighting output. Due to limitations of the DMX equipment, standard bulbs commonly found on the market are incompatible. It is advisable to use either halogen bulbs or incandescent bulbs.

Lea: The Outer Part

walking cards, displayed on a cosy desk

the set up to scan

Protocol

I went to several iterations of the walking protocol: It is based on Wilfried Hou Je Bek's walking algorithms. My first machine coming out of this idea is the Psychogeographic Walking Machine, which outputs a poem. It can be found in the Writing Machine Directory. I wrote several other walking protocols, for example based on vision, smell or hearing. I considered offering all these different options to the audience—then they could compare how they experience the city while focusing on different senses. In the end, I decided to make just one protocol. I am very curious how different people perceive the same (urban) space, and one protocol for all makes a comparison possible.

I also worked on different instructions for the walking itself, but quickly settled on five right turns—thereby walking out of the door and once around the block. This is the shortest possible path without going backwards, thus it takes little time and is accessible to many people. First, I tried to draw the diagrams with Graphvis, but I couldn't control them in detail and switched over to Inkscape.

a first draft for a protocol based on listening

a first draft for a protocol based on observing

Copying

To actually be able to see the results, I had to think of a way to safe them. I wanted people be able to take their outputs home, so I discarded the idea of a letterbox "void" to drop the cards into. In the end, I set up a scanner. Steve gave me a book scanner of his to use, but its software only runs on MacOs and Windows. Instead, I used a small flatbed document scanner from the XML. I set up a raspberry pie, so I don't have to use my laptop during the event. The evening before the event, Michael helped me write a python script to scan on pressing enter, and a bash script to start the python script. Since I did not want to bring a display, I had to run it blindly on the day of the exhibition. I was very surprised to see it working on the first try!

#!/bin/bash
cd /home/xpub/walking
python3 scanning.py

import os

while True:
	input("press enter to scan")
	# first scan a page
	# scanning = "scanimage --resolution 300 -o walking.png"
	scanning = "scanimage --resolution 300 -o  walking-$(date +%H%M%S).png"
	print("scanning")
	os.system(scanning)
	# os.system("echo $(date +%H%M%S).png")

Writing

A big part of the process for me had been writing: I started with the narration to welcome the visitors into our machine. I felt it was necessary to provide a form of guidance, as we essentially were presenting two very different installations physically very close to each other. Our goal was to spread calmness and offer a moment for reflection to the audience, so this is what we tried to reflect in the narration.

For the output, I wrote a framework for a short story (not a poem), that I tested multiple times. It is hard to always make it fit semantically and grammatically. I talked to Thjis about good story writing and gentle narration. Barbara's note "how to write a story softly" really stuck with me. My aim was to fit all the different pieces of writing (the welcome note, the instructions and questions from the protocol, and the output story) into one cohesive experience.

* Can you spot an object that reminds you of home?
* Is there something curious to observe?
* Look at someone or something active to your left. What are they doing?
* What do you see when you look up?
* How did this walk make you feel?

Imagine this: [A] is drifting through the city… Roaming the streets, opening their eyes, then opening them again. Drafting stories in their mind. There are not many others around. A few people, high up on the rooftops, are [C]. [A] feels [E] by them, but not uncomfortably so. On the way, [A] spots 
[B] under hovering [D]. Is this still real? 

[F] is drifting through the city… Walking faster to get warm, to catch a green light, to get out of someones way. Walking slower to cool down, to look at something more closely, to get out of someones way. Drafting stories in their mind. Seeing [G] in the clouds—higher up than [I] . Watching the ants, [H] . They always seem to be so [J] . [F], too, is [J]. Finally, still on their feet, [F] catches [G] falling into their arms, growing larger by the second. Is this a message? 

[K] is drifting through the city… One street at a time, all the ways at once. Crawling and jumping, drafting stories in their mind. Thinking third thoughts about scarecrows and rats, [M]. At the crossroads, [L] is looking down from [N], watching over the city. [K] blinks twice—[O], as usual. Is this the  end?

Results

the final graph

the final framework for the story

example of an output from the day of the event

a second example

Narration for the audience

Welcome to the Calm Machine.
Please sit down, relax for a moment. You have moved through the hall and made it here. This a space to ground yourself—without rushing, without judging. Reflect on the things you have observed.
What sensations did you experience on your way? Did something feel strangely familiar? Did you notice something that sparked inspiration in you? What did your hands want to touch? Listen to your body, your thoughts and your surroundings.

The Inner Machine
Please take a 'key', open it and have a seat. You have entered the inner part of the machine, where you can touch, listen, and heighten your sensory perception. Feel the most tender and intimate part of the machine.

The Outer Machine
You have been here for a while now. Did you gather some fresh energy? If you feel like it, we would like to take you on a walk and thereby make you write a story. Breathe in some fresh air and feel the Rotterdam autumn winds on your face. Grab a pen and one of the walking cards. Just follow the instructions to start your journey! When you are done, please come back here to scan your results.

Reflection

Sibyl

First, the space was pretty dark, so it was hard for people to read the exhibition notes, and it was a bit risky in terms of safety. Also, because of the location, some visitors thought it was backstage and didn’t realize it was part of the exhibition. But interestingly, some people said that the surprise of discovering it as an exhibition space actually made them feel delighted.

Second, I think I didn’t manage my time very well while preparing the work. I was constantly anxious, knowing that the piece would end up showing a pretty unstable state. But one visitor told me that the way I kept repairing and restarting the machine made it feel like we were actually inside the machine. Coming into the space, we had to “restart” and adapt, and in that way, every visitor became part of the machine. That really put me at ease.

This is also one of the reasons I like making interactive work — because through interacting with the audience, I can constantly get new perspectives and feedback.

Lea

It was positively surprising how many people turned up to the event, and even more so that many did the protocol, despite the inclement weather and the gloom of a November afternoon. The feedback that I received was lovely: People generally enjoyed the walk and the questions on the cards seemed to be resonating with them. My intention was to make people reflect on their surroundings and think about things that otherwise would not cross their minds during a busy event, and this worked out nicely.

One drawback: There were many visitors and the space for our machine is smaller than I had in mind from the first visit at UBIK. Therefore it was quite crowded and "The Calm Machine" was not very calm at all.

During Special Issue #28, I thought again and again about how to make writing machines meaningful. The output of several machines I worked on was fun, but often not more than that. In conversations with different people, I collected ideas of how to assign meaning to an output text.

Talking to Steve, I realised that context is very relevant. Making a poem, a story or even a non textual output relate to a person or a specific moment in time can give it meaning. It is also interesting to think about the act of performing the protocol as the meaningful part of a writing machine, not expecting the output to go further than that. That really resonated with me in the context of The Calm Machine. I chose the act of walking as part of my protocol, because it means something to me, and I hoped that others would feel the same way.

It also helps to give character to an output text. Thijs gave me valuable input on writing: use repetition, contradictions and purposeful vagueness. I was initially not satisfied with my story framework, because it felt very random. But by leaning into the randomness, I was surprised to find it more cohesive than before.

Manetta was insistent about what I want to achieve with my work. What is the intention? I found another meaning in having many outputs next to each other, thereby being able to compare the results from different people. Having a sneak peak in how their minds are working!

What to keep working on: ... Since working on the walking algorithm for the event, I have been reading further in the book Walking and Mapping