Touch Data Body X
By VJ Um Amel
Touch Data Body X tries to find the soul of the machine by expressing the idea that computer malfunctions expose something for which you were not prepared. In this interactive media installation, [VJ Um Amel](/artists/vj-um-amel) has written code in Processing 2.2.1 that enables users to manipulate frequency modulation of the source photograph for the metal print, Data Body of a Cyborg / سايبورغ مجسّم من البيانات, also on display at Artobots in the [Glitch Resistance on Metal](/orgs/codame/projects/glitch-resistance-on-metal) installation. FM - frequency modulator with color channels 2018 VJ Um Amel, vjumamel.com Frequency modulation and demodulation of the image **process goes in following way:** - convert RGB into desired colorspace (GS - grayscale) For every channel - modulate signal - quantize and dequantize signal (if quantval > 0) - demodulate signal using derivative method - apply 3 lowpass filters in a chain to remove carrier (if possible) Combine channels and convert back to RGB **How to Interact:** - move mouse X axis - change the carrier wave frequency - move mouse Y axis - change bandwidth - click mouse to fix setup (click again to release) - press N to negate image press SPACE to save VJ Um Amel uses emergent technologies to expand our vocabulary for communicating with each other. Similar to the way in which punk music was a reaction against hyper-polished rock-n-roll of the time, this aesthetic based on computer malfunction, or glitch, is a reaction against the ultra high-definition images saturated beyond real color that is portrayed in contemporary media. The call to touch Data Body X is an invitation to experience haptic manipulation, in this case, of frequency modulation. This installation is made possible by the UCSB Carsey-Wolf Center Faculty Research Support award.