Ars Electronica Archive
Prix
Prix Map
Pictures
Videos
Publications
Special Projects
Women in Media Art
Prix
The Prix Ars Electronica Archive is a collection enabling search and viewing of all the submissions since 1987. The award-winning projects are documented with catalogue texts and audio-visual media. All other submissions can be searched by title/artist and displayed with year, category in list form. Please cite the credits (artwork name, artist and photographer) and only use the materials if your article is related to Ars Electronica.
empathetic heartbeat
Hideyuki Ando,
Masahiko Sato,
Junji Watanabe
Original: empathetic heartbeat | 1689 * 1615px | 1.3 MB
Original: empathetic heartbeat | 774 * 574px | 282.5 KB
Empathy is important for our society and individuals, because it is what facilitates our interactions and connections to the other people around us. Empathy is a foundation for building a supportive community and considering other people’s feelings.
The installation _empathetic heartbeat_ aims to get the participant to empathize with people in movies by “misperceiving” his/her own heartbeat as if it is coming from the people.
Although the heart is indispensable to every human being, they cannot distinguish their own heartbeats from those of others. So the heartbeats can be anonymous and shared. We used the participant’s heartbeat as a medium for feeling empathy.
The participants put on the headphones and attach the stethoscope to their chest. They can hear the sound of their own heartbeat. When they see movies of nervous people, such as a child about to start running or a soldier on battlefield, the volume changes according to the situation in the movie. Gradually they become unable to distinguish whether the sound is coming from their own body or from the people in the movie. The heartbeat plays a role in empathizing with others. Imagination with the heartbeats from the others leads to empathy with their emotional states.
Links: http://www.junji.org/eh/
The installation _empathetic heartbeat_ aims to get the participant to empathize with people in movies by “misperceiving” his/her own heartbeat as if it is coming from the people.
Although the heart is indispensable to every human being, they cannot distinguish their own heartbeats from those of others. So the heartbeats can be anonymous and shared. We used the participant’s heartbeat as a medium for feeling empathy.
The participants put on the headphones and attach the stethoscope to their chest. They can hear the sound of their own heartbeat. When they see movies of nervous people, such as a child about to start running or a soldier on battlefield, the volume changes according to the situation in the movie. Gradually they become unable to distinguish whether the sound is coming from their own body or from the people in the movie. The heartbeat plays a role in empathizing with others. Imagination with the heartbeats from the others leads to empathy with their emotional states.
Links: http://www.junji.org/eh/
This piece was created for Exhibition “The Definition of Self”, directed by Masahiko Sato at 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, 16 July- 3rd Nov. 2010.
Hideyuki Ando (JPN) received a Ph.D. in Information Science and Technology from the University of Tokyo. From 2002 he was a research associate, and from 2007 a research specialist at NTT Communication Science Laboratories. He is currently an associate professor at the Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Osaka University.
Masahiko Sato (JP) is a communication designer. After working for DENTSU Inc., he became a professor at Keio University, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies in 1999. He has been a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media since 2006.
Junji Watanabe (JP) received a Ph. D. in Information Science and Technology from the University of Tokyo in 2005. His fields of interests are visual and haptic perception and communications. His studies have been presented in international journals and international conferences (Siggraph 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).
Masahiko Sato (JP) is a communication designer. After working for DENTSU Inc., he became a professor at Keio University, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies in 1999. He has been a professor at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Film and New Media since 2006.
Junji Watanabe (JP) received a Ph. D. in Information Science and Technology from the University of Tokyo in 2005. His fields of interests are visual and haptic perception and communications. His studies have been presented in international journals and international conferences (Siggraph 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).