Masaki Fujihata

Beyond Pages

1995

Werk - Beyond Pages
Artist / Artist group
Masaki Fujihata
Title
Beyond Pages
Year
1995
Category
installation, computer-based
Material / Technique
computer-based interactive installation; wooden room with table, chair and 2 projection surfaces; technical equipment: computer: Power Macintosh 8100, operating system: OS9, software: custom software, additional devices: tablet (Wacom Digitizer) with wireless pen, custom-made control electronics, modified table lamp, speakers, 2 projectors
Dimensions / Duration
300 x 500 x 250 cm, installation dimensions variable
Collection
ZKM | Center for Art and Media
Description

In »Beyond Pages« by Japanese artist Masaki Fujihata a familiar situation is staged: sitting at home at a table and reading a book. The surprise element in this work is that the boundaries between the real and the virtual space are blurred.

In this computer-based and interactive work visitors sit on a chair in front of a desk. In the darkened space, which is reminiscent of a study, a virtual book — a projection — lies on the desk top. This book functions as an interface for various operations. Using a stylus, visitors can turn the pages of the book, set off sounds, move three-dimensional objects around on the book, or makes changes to the space. For example, the reading lamp can be turned on and off. Additionally, the video projection of a door can be changed: the artist’s small daughter opens the door, laughing.

For Fujihata the book is both a carrier of information and a storage medium, a symbol of written culture. »Beyond Pages« can be understood as the book of the future, which expands the linear form of reading through possibilities provided by technology.

Author: Dorothea Deli

About the artist/s