0829 | An interesting key hole
@14th St/6th Av station. A fire department standpipe outlet. It is interesting to see how the key hole has an unusual shape, preventing people without authority from manipulating the device.
0830 | Yikes, No Bikes
@Dumbo. With the font size being similar and the words rhyming, 'Yikes' and 'No Bikes' was read as a single phrase, which actually emphasized the sign in some way.
0831 | Shoe Tossing
@Williamsburg. Wasn't able to figure out the meaning of this particular shoe tossing, but it was interesting how a sneaker shaped wooden board was hanging next to a real sneaker. Could have been a piece of artwork, could have been up there before the actual sneaker, now one would now besides the person that hung it there.
0901 | Keypad
@Sullivan Pl. In Korea, keypads are usually digital, and room numbers only use numbers, e.g. 1st room of 4th floor would be 401. I tried to ring for room 4E, which wasn't that intuitive for me with this given interface.
0902 | Pedestrian Signals
@Bushwick. It is interesting to see how pedestrian lights differ from country to country. Now that I think of it, all the countries I've visited had different interfaces for pedestrian signals.
0903 | C Level in Apartment
@39 Fayette St. I figured that the elevators in the US had different buttons for floors. My apartment has a C level which goes to the basement of the apartment, and somehow the B level goes to the 1st floor or the lobby. Why isn't there an agreement for floor names in the US?
0904 | Inches
@D12. I've always thought Inches were a weird measurement system. When the metric system can easily measure things as small as a single millimeter, you would have to write that in fractions for inches such as 1/32 inch.
0905 | Life Underground
@14th St/8th Ave Station. There is an series of bronze sculptures in the 14th St station. I found out the piece was called 'Life Underground'. It is interesting to see how this sculpture are everywhere in the station, some which are barely noticeable. Fun fact: MTA paid 1% of the station's renovation budget for the series. Considering the popularity of the piece, it was a budget well spent!
0906 | Migrations
@Flushing Ave Station/BMT Line. Another fascinating work found on Flushing Ave station. After finding out that the name of the project was 'migration', I was able to understand why it was named so. The liveliness and the vibrant colors of the piece shows exactly what we can find in NY. With the sun setting at the back of the laminated glasswork, it added even more vibrance.
0907 | New York City Metro Map
@Subway. Subway maps are another thing that looks totally different in every country. Korea uses a more graphic map, whereas NY uses a geographical one.
0908 | Keypad 2
@Sullivan Pl. I gave it a try this time, and it actually wasn't that hard! But still, this screen interface has a lot of space for UX improvements. Questions could be asked; Why are there letters next to each number if there is no function to it? Why does the screen only show one room at a time while it makes people scroll down with the arrow keys?
0909 | Mechanical Masterpieces
@Instagram. Found an interesting interactive artwork while scrolling through instagram. It is the 'Mechanical Masterpieces' by Neil Mendoza. The interaction in this piece has an analog trigger and a digital result. I've seen other media art forms of recreations of masterpieces. Although they had motion graphics of masterpieces in a massive screen, it didn't quite capture the atmosphere of the original. However, a piece that is playful such as this introduces another way to interact with masterpieces. Link to project: https://www.neilmendoza.com/portfolio/mechanical-masterpieces/
0910 | Surveillance Eyes
@W 13th St. I ran across these surveillance cameras that looked like a googly eye. Surveillance cameras are always a subject of controversy between personal safety and personal privacy. But having it look like this, it actually added a friendly vibe to it.
0911 | Visualizing Wind
@Instagram. Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ. This kinetic wall plate on the Footprint Center in Arizona captures wind in a visible form. Though I don't think this particular piece has meanings related to the stadium, a method like this might come in handy where visual representation of wind is needed, such as in surfing beaches. It could be a more intuitive way to see the wind than a weather vane. Link to IG post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-Vxhkaxj3D/?igsh=Z25hdjltZDVldDVn
0912 | Transparency Display
@Bitforms Gallery. Transparency Display by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. It was fascinating to see how such a small camera can capture the motions of people walking by and send signals to a liquid crystal pixel. Whenever someone moves in front of this installment, the blurred glass becomes transparent. It actually might be really useful in some occasions if the interaction was in the other way around, blurring when someone passes. Link to project: https://bitforms.art/artwork/transparency-display
0913 | Graffiti
@791 Broadway. I came across a commissioned graffiti site nearby my apartment. I've been interested in graffiti as a form of art since I got to know Banksy when I was in 5th grade. It is fascinating to see the social meanings of this anti-social method of expression. Even within graffiti, the line between artwork and vandalism is very unclear. Who decides a graffiti is an artwork? What factors are represented in graffitis that convey social meanings?
0914 | Sundial
@Nearby the MET. While walking nearby the MET, this sundial caught my attention. It's been a long time since I've seen a clock that functions without any kind of electricity. The best way to perceive time without looking at a clock would be just looking outside and see where the sun is at. But, the sun's location also differs from your location. I wonder how these sundials would work in the northern parts of the world were there are white nights. And is there a way we can capture time without electricity during the night?
0915 | Fireman
@Fire Station nearby 1st Av St - L line. Just thought it was a well made statue, at a great location.
0916 | The Hand
@Wall St. I had to post this. The handshake project brought up a lot of questions to think about. The social meaning of a handshake, different forms of hand greetings, difference in interaction between gender and ethnicity, and so on. It was a tough challenge to make people interact with something without any verbal or written cues.
0917 | School Sign
@Nearby 3rd Av St - L line. I found a school street sign while I was walking. I stood for a while to think how that symbol relates to a school. For me, it looks like a male and a female, adult, carrying a briefcase. + Additional Notes. Introduced this sign to a reading moderation activity at CPS1, and got some great insights. Clarinda, who has been living in NY for a long time, never had the chance to think of it the way I perceived it. Not sure if it was Clarinda or other classmates, but someone brought up that it could actually be a book that they are carrying.
0918 | Visual Perception
@Instagram. Project by Alisa Gulkanyan. Mirror as a noun means a 'reflective surface', and as a verb it means 'show a reflection of'. I think this project is a good example of using a mirror as a reflective surface, and at the same time, capturing the other side of what we visually perceive. What we believe starts from seeing, but beyond what we see is usually where most things are. Link to IG Reels: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7Y4UQ6sVV-/?locale=en_GB%2Cen_GB&hl=en
0919 | Bounce Chair
@Instagram. Bounce Chiar by MWO Design.
0920 | Air Bear
@Instagram. Air Bear by Joshua Allen Harris.
0921 | Olfactory
@Rubin Museum of Art. The best way for me to go back to my memories and dive into that moment is through smell. After seeing the project 'Resurrecting the Sublime', I felt that the olfactory is a sense that is underexplored in the tech realm. It's also a sense that sometimes reacts faster to things than vision and hearing. For example, you will be able sense something is burning with smell. It's also one of the hardest to explain precisely.
0922 | Marketing
@Nearby Printed Matters St Marks. Definitely caught the eyes of everyone that saw this. They were advertising a new musical. Everyone was taking photos and scanning the QR code.