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So what we're going to do today is to take an indeterminate hike. One of the things that
I try to do as an artist who works with new and emerging technologies is to somehow interrupt
the use of these technologies so that it causes people an unexpected or renewed awakening
or sensibility of those devices being in our lives. So we'll hit "Go." Let's do this thing.
We'll go that way. IH+ is art app that we've created that imports ideas of wilderness onto
urban spaces. And it does so by allowing the user to create hikes that are non-linear,
not the shortest distance between point A and point B. Since Cary and I have been working
together, we've been always thinking about the environment as something that's not just
nature, but also the world all around us, including media, industrial infrastructure,
urban spaces. This looks really interesting right here. I mean it took a lot of years
of earth history to be developed. Instead of using those technologies to overcome space,
how can we use them to reimbed in space and actually notice where we are? Instead of the
smartphones or the mobile devices being task-oriented, they've become devices of imagination and
creativity and exploration. Guess what, we're near a Scenic Vista right now. When you're
using IH+, it populates your screen with what's called Scenic Vistas. And these Scenic Vistas
are chosen at random, by the application. You'll encounter these Scenic Vistas and they
give you prompts. Prompts that hopefully will increase your awareness of the environment
in which you dwell and which you move through. Put your ear on the ground if you can and
listen to the mood of the earth. It was pretty nice to slow down and go to some places that
I haven't really gone to before, some streets that I would never really walk down, and take
a new look at the urban environment. Stop here, do not continue until you get the rumble
of combustion engines. We're originally from Honduras. And in Honduras you enjoy life as
it is. You walk around everywhere. There's a lot of mountains, there's a lot of nature.
When I moved to the United States, it's been definitely affected by technology. This hike
slows you down and think about different types of amenities. What was really inspiring about
creating this project was to test the assumption that these technologies need to take us away
from the environment, or can they actually help us create a sense of environmental wonder.
The prompt says Walk as slowly as you can to the next scenic vista, dragging your left
foot behind you. My favorite part of working with new and emerging technologies is the
participatory nature of these sorts of artworks, so that it escapes the gallery and moves on
to the streets and causes social interactions. And I think that's the most important and
exciting part of working this way.