The Art of ON/OFF research
Glenn Davidson
Co - Director and Lead Artist
Based in Cardiff - Artstation Ltd. Est:1989
Art and technology practice.
Fellowship in Cybernetics under Prof. Gordon Pask.
Amsterdam University
Studied Art
Partnership with Anne Hayes since 1978
Run button film
• A film of on off buttons was shown
The Art of ON/OFF research
• Limits of my study ?
• Which ON/OFF s count as being in and why?
• Quasi - Scientific Pursuit – my project is a QSP
• Undertaken to exacting standards.
The oldest known
ON/OFF
button
…?
ON/OFF Research
The BIG BANG!
inflating the
universe from a
singularity.
Sience predicts that
within ON/OFF is
an unstable
Vacuum…
ON/OFF Research
• language and the meaning - we have ON within OFF in language
• active and passive together…
I am waiting - ON line at the bank
Be OFF with you – go..
I am having an OFF day
• Having it OFF !
• On the off chance !
• http://www.yourdictionary.com/on
• http://www.yourdictionary.com/off
• Active / live – inactive / dead
ON/OFF Research
As verb - Bangs go off
• A light goes on and off
• A gun is set OFF, so too, a firework
• We start ON a job
• We start OFF in a car or journey
• We can be found ON the
maternity ward
• Language of ON OFF is linguistic and to a degree
cultural – WBTR or “well beyond this research”!
ON/OFF Research
Which is my
ON /OFF?
ON/OFF Research
The Human Button.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7751912.stm
Historian
Peter Hennessy
The Nuclear Button
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/775
1912.stm
Below Witshire countryside the
nuclear button
http://www.pushclicktouch.com/
http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/
archive/
1887: The Times 1785-1985
archive open to the public
First mention of “push-button”
March 9, 1887 - The title is “A New
Telephone,”
Fancy light and sound switches
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http://cyborgcamp.com/
Info-tainment:
Boolean
Binary
The reacTable
Wired Magazine,
Toward a workable definition.
Buttons are in evidence all around us
Buttons are about control.
Questions:
Who is controlling who?
and
Is there some sort of conditioning going on… ?
Toward a workable definition.
I need to explore the connection between ON/OFF buttons
and their conditioning effect.
Inspiration: Look no further than New Zealand !
http://www.energysafety.govt.nz/
Outside of the research
• All other things are beyond this research.
Useless by em selves…
A brief list of places.
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A power station
The fire station
Police station
The bank
A cinema
A domestic house
A business
A shop
A department store
The street / high street
The bus stop/ terminus
The water treatment plant
Train Station
The coach station
A brief list of stuff.
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Car
Bus
Lorry
Fire Engine
TV
Radio
Cassette Player
iPod
Mobile phone
GSP
Video recorder
CD Player
Computer
Printer
• Curling tongues
• Hair curlers
• Electric shaver
Home Appliances:
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Washing machine
Dish washer
Fridge
Kettle
Toaster
Freezer
Button hunting
• Ontological morphology of buttons
Research trip.
On the street
Filming with Cristian Suau
Research trip
FILM
Entering the second hand
shop
Filming with Cristian Suau
Research trip.
The small specialist music store
FILM
Filming with Cristian Suau
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell
IAT - Implicit Association Test
ON/OFF IAT test
OFF
ON
Washing machine
Dishwasher
Fridge
Kettle
Toaster
Freezer
Iron
Video
CD player
iPod
Phone
result
ON
OFF
Washing machine
Dishwasher
Fridge
Kettle
Toaster
Freezer
Video
CD player
iPod
phone
Weight on Control
Most of the time
OFF
Most of the time
ON
Washing machine
Dishwasher
Fridge
Kettle
Toaster
Freezer
Iron
Video
CD player
iPod
Phone
The ON/OFF research
WEBSITE
• The worlds first ON OFF website to detect ON or OFF
prejudice.
• Measures an individuals performance.
• Agregates and distributes findings to those who need to
know (public).
Note: Timing could be added to this to detect the IAT.
Data collection
Data distribution
Data store
http://www.coolpants.co.uk/onoff
http://www.on_off.org.uk
The exhibition pieces
• Two switch pictures
• Conditioning energy from OFF to ON (between states)
• User conditioning – contemplation between states (Consumption
and ecomony)
Switches and attractors
Surface Gallery Nottingham
ON/OFF RESEARCH FINDINGS
The conditioning of the ON button is visible in the public
behaviour.
• Children are heavily drawn to computer, phone and
console - recent research found thumbs used to push a
door bell (24 years and under) every over uses pointing
figure…
• Advocacy: More OFF switches in public life - .