TACT / artist:
/ Jean Dubois
Tact is an interactive video installation that can be controlled using a touch-sensitive screen. It sets up a meeting between the participant and an anonymous person located on the other side of the screen. The Tact program links video sequences in response to the participant’s various manipulations. Without using words, participants are invited to engage in gesticulative dialogue. By touching and rubbing, they eventually discover they are provoking unusual reactions from their virtual partner.
Literally, the word “tact” is synonymous with the sense of touch. Figuratively, however, it also means an intuitive, spontaneous and thoughtful appreciation of how it is appropriate to behave in a human relationship. The Tact project demonstrates the increasing presence of electronic mediation in interpersonal exchanges. The recent emergence of various network communication services (e-mail, forums, electronic chat) is giving rise to a particular type of public space where social relations are often filtered by anonymity or artificial identities. In many cases, these can be seen as an opportunity for openly expressing ourselves with others without actually exposing ourselves personally. Technology then plays a paradoxical role in that it provides direct access to others while maintaining a protective distance. In this kind of relationship, a strange mixture of inhibition and exhibition seems to appear.
Credits
The artist received support from Canada Council for the Arts (CAC) for the production of this project.
Curators's projects: À l'intérieur/Inside, INSIDE
