In the frame of
戦略的創造研究推進事業 (CREST) programs, a 1H30 symposium entitled
デバイスアート CRESTシンポジウム (Device Art CREST symposium) took place at
秋葉原ＵＤＸ (Akihabara UDX) in 東京 (Tokyo, Japan) the 18th of May 2007. It highlighted interactions and collaborations between artists and researchers.
The
device art, art based on devices, is defined by three characteristics: (1) the body of the device is itself-part of-the content, (2) the device is playful, and (3) its aesthetics establishes a bridge between cultures of the past and of the future. Three main threads were followed during the presentations, each indicating the role of research in the development of this new form of art: the creation of interactive gadgets, the creation of functional modules reusable by artists, and techniques/methods of evaluation to foster dissemination among the young and older general public. The three threads are strongly related to three research fields in which Japan is a world leader: virtual reality, robotics, and ubiquitous systems (e.g. wearable computers, intelligent environments).
The main participants were:
稲見昌彦 (INAMI Masahiko) from
電気通信大学 (The university of electro-communications),
児玉幸子 (KODAMA Sachiko) from
電気通信大学 (The university of electro-communications), 土佐信道 (TOSA Nobumichi) from
明和電機 (Maywa Denki),
クワクボリョウタ (KUWAKUBO Ryota), 矢野博明 (YANO Hiroaki) from
筑波大学 (University of Tsukuba), 八谷和彦 (HACHIYA Kazuhiko) from
ペットワークス (PetWORKs),
前田太郎 (MAEDA Taro) from
大阪大学 (Osaka university), and
草原真知子 (KUSAHARA Machiko) from
早稲田大学 (Waseda university).
Note: The
device art has already been introduced in France and in the United States of America. It has notably been the focus of a session at the conference of
Laval Virtual (Laval, France) in 2006; devices such as the robots of
稲見昌彦 (INAMI Masahiko) have also been demonstrated there.
