Concept

The embodiment of physicality amidst digital noise has the potential to artificially harmonize notions of humanity. With one foot digital and one foot analog, how do we make sense of an environment that is partially synthetic? (+/-) Pendulum operates using the mechanics of the Foucault Pendulum (a mechanism created to demonstrate the Earth’s physical properties); however, intangible outlets (a smartphone and web application) inform its location based on participatory user input. Physicality has been not only democratized but thwarted—now malleable to the masses.

Functional Description

User input from this web application aides in the internal driving mechanism of a physical sculpture entitled (+/-) Pendulum that is physically installed in Los Angeles, USA. The sculptural component of this installation serves as a starting point for the creation and collection of participant data. The basis of the installation is founded on the mechanics of the Foucault Pendulum, which was created in the mid-19th Century to exemplify the Earth’s physical properties (i.e., the fact that it is round and rotates). Many may prescribe to the idea that we now live in an era where the Earth’s physical properties are of little importance. As a result, the rotation of the (+/-) Pendulum is based on participatory user input from this web application, which asks the question “Where do you want to be?” From collective user input, the average of all data points orients the pendulum to a collective desired location, which seeks to show that our world is not flat, round or oblong—it is malleable and democratic in the digital sphere.