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Masaki Fujihata, Japan
Beyond Pages, 1995
Interactive environment
3 x 5.5 x 3.7 meters, projection on wall 2.28 x 3.05 meters, projection on table 42 x 59.4 centimeters
(Power Macintosh 8100/100AV, 2 LCD projectors, computer speakers)
Wacom digitizer tablet A2 in the table, cordless pen
1 user, chair, table, lamp, Macromedia Director
Courtesy of ZKM | Media Museum |
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Selected by: ZKM_Center for Art and Media, Karlsruhe
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In Beyond Pages, the observer enters an inviting and natural situation. While working, the dramaturgy is fixed: One sits down at a table and finds a book and a pen. This arrangement is clear and forces an evaluation of the medium. From childhood on, people in most cultures are familiar with the actions of turning pages and reading. For Fujihata, the book represents an information conveyer and storage medium, also serving as a symbol for textual culture and the practice of a linear method of reading. His interest in the testing and use of multi-media technology allows him to analyze the qualities and push against the limits of the medium.
Although Beyond Pages presents a book as interface and simulates the action of turning pages, the two-dimensional limits of the surface and the inflexibility of the symbol are elegantly exceeded. To expand the usually quiet and still form of illustrated text, Fujihata introduces moments of surprise. Three-dimensional moving elements appear on the surface of the pages, their movement coupled with acoustic signals. The observer’s continual smile speaks for the effect of these wonderful moments and underscores the tension between perception and recognition. The amazement intensifies as the scope of events is broadened by an unexpected and sudden change: The lamps light up and a very short projection of a smiling child within a door appears. In Beyond Pages, Fujihata refers to technology’s potential for shaping valuable content with fantasy, concentration, and curiosity. |
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other artworks: Orchisoid
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Masaki Fujihata
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