Paul Fishwick, Julie Henderson, Elinore Fresh, Rasha Kamhawi, Amy Jo Coffey, Benjamin Hamilton: The Sky Oracle: Immersive Flowchart Representation for the Annexation of Tibet

Artist(s):

• Paul Fishwick
• Julie Henderson
• Elinore Fresh
• Rasha Kamhawi
• Amy Jo Coffey
• Benjamin Hamilton

Title:

The Sky Oracle: Immersive Flowchart Representation for the Annexation of Tibet

Exhibition:

• SIGGRAPH 2009: Information Aesthetics Showcase

Creation Year:

2009

Category:

• Interactive & Monitor-Based

Artist Statement:

The Sky Oracle on the University of Florida’s Second China Island in Second Life applies an interactive, immersive aesthetic to the representation ofstructured information in the form of a control-flow diagram (a representation of both information and software). The diagram captures two different time periods in the history of Tibetan annexation, with a two-way branch flow indicating two different perspectives labeled Chinese vs. US. An example of aesthetic computing, this “walk-through” flowchart presents a novel approach for interacting with behavioral information by combining a sense of audio, and visual presence to explore the concept of cognitive dissonance.

What are the effects of interacting with software in this way? Can flow charts be effective in presentation of complex news stories or public affairs issues? We are in the planning stages of a human-subject experiment along the lines of a channel study where modes of information delivery are compared and contrasted to see what benefits emerge from each form of representation.