Ailsa Brock (she/they)
I chose to base this work on the theatre as it is one of my main passions and not something I have previously had the chance to explore within my course. Combing the arts with digital technology is more relevant now than ever, as Covid-19 has changed the way we can access culture, with access being limited only to cultural forms accessible by technology.
Much of my work is focused on language; the way it sounds, the ways it can be manipulated, and how you can use it visually. I have based much of my work on plays written in Runway – a machine-learning ‘generative toolkit’ that I have used to create my own original scripts and monologues.
This work explores the human perception of the machine and vice versa.
Word Radiolaria
Generative imagery created from the language of machine written monologues. Using words to create natural looking forms.
Much of this imagery is inspired by this specific machine monologue;
‘My heart leaps for you as you hug me tight.
My breath prays for you as you take my hand.
My heart grows clammy as you take my ring.
But truth be told, I don’t need your love.
I need you now. Tell me you love me.
(Breathlessly) I love you.’
Created using Processing.
Machine Monologues
A main focus of this project has been machine written monologues. These are original pieces of writing written by a ‘robot’. They are written using inspirations from both classic and amateur playwrights. Many are written in a linear fashion – each line written in inspiration of the one that came before it. Others were written as a whole.
Created using Runway
Improv with a Robot
This is a website that allows you to improvise with a ‘robot’.
This work takes the idea of theatre and gives the machine a central role. A lot of people don’t enjoy improv because it can seem pretentious and, as an audience member, you are often called upon to provide the inspirations for the piece. What this work has done is take away those facets of improvisation and make it more appealing to the average person.
Created with P5.js and Runway.
