tuangkamol thongborisute interactive artist & experiential designer
2017-2018 portfolio
intro This portfolio presents five art projects that are created by Tuangkamol Thongborisute between 2017-2018. The projects are sorted from the most recent to the oldest projects. They are “Social Media without the Internet,” “Signal Moods,” “#Adulting,” “iCeleb: You. Tube. Me,” and “Face Exercise Machine.” These projects are categorized into three topics of research, which are “Digital Sense,” “Social Media,” and “Beauty Trends.” Each project is written on two pages showing summarized information of its making and conceptualizing process on the right page, and the finished result on the left page. Project information also includes examples of inspiring references and research. The reader can access online documentation of the particular project like, website and video, using QR codes. At the end of this portfolio is the artist’s biography, curriculum vitae, and contact information. In addition, a completed visual design of this portofolio is available online at https://issuu.com/ tuangstudio. To see more works of Tuangkamol, please visit the website at www.tuangstudio.com.
digital
l sense
social media without the internet wearable technology electronics, processing, python, arduino, and raspberry pi “Social Media without the Internet” is an interactive performance art project, created as an examination of the human sense of touch. The work is part of the research project entitled “Digital Senses.” It encourages people to socialize and invites them to have more intimate interactions with one another. The project consists of two mediums: art object and performance. The art object is a tech wearable. Its functions are designed to operate with hand gestures when people are socializing, i.e. handshaking, hi-fiving, shoulder-tapping, and handholding. The performance is a medium of investigation of the way social media’s interactions can be introduced into the real world. In the gallery setting, there is live video of the jacket wearer and participants interacting streaming on monitors, which represents the broadcast of interaction between users on social media. However, without the Internet, the live stream operates as a “local area network” only.
information
wearable video
interaction video
finished piece
references and inspirations Antonio. “Sports Jacket – Blazer – Suit – What’s The Difference? | Distinguishing The Differences Between 3 Classic Menswear Pieces.” Accessed June 5, 2018. https://www.realmenrealstyle.com/sports-jacket-blazer-suit/. Macdonald, Fiona. “Are We Really All Connected by Just Six Degrees of Separation?.” Last modified August 27, 2015. https://www.sciencealert.com/are-we-all-really-connected-by-just-sixdegrees-of-separation. The New York Times. “Why Arab Men Hold Hands.” Last modified May 10, 2005. https://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/01/ weekinreview/why-arab-men-hold-hands.html/. Vittal, Reneysh. “When You Come From a Culture That Does Not See Men Holding Hands as Gay, but You, In Fact Are.” Last Modified June 23, 2016. https://goodmenproject.com/gendersexuality/come-culture-not-seemen-holding-hands-gay-fact/. WikiHow. “How to have an Effective Handshake.” Last modified April, 2018. https://www.wikihow.com/Have-anEffective-Handshake. Wikipedia contributors. “Facebook like button.” Last modified June 1, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face book_like_button. Wikipedia contributors. “Gesture.” Last modified May 22, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gesture.vv Wikipedia contributors. “Greeting.” Last modified May 20, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeting. Wikipedia contributors. “Sense.” Last modified May 17, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense.
PCB board and wearable gadgets were customized to fit specifically with the wearable. Various detachable pockets were created to encase electronic components in case when cleaning is needed. The prototype is developed into a final product and ready to be used.
The search of clothing fabric and electronic components was performed to create prototypes of softwear and hardwear. Hardware was designed to fit within the limitation of space inside the clothing for the user to be comfortable wearing it while interacting with other people.
The ideas of humans’ connection in digitality and physicality was invesitigated. Various possibilities to create an artifect that reflects the concept of touching sensory and social media were explored.
making process
experimentation & prototyping
conceptualization & research
signal moods live interactive sound sculpture customized software, processing, java, social media api Signal Moods is an interactive sound sculpture, one of the research innovations of the project “Digital Sense.� It examines similarities and differences of text interpretation between humans and computers. Signal Moods asks viewers to spend time listening and considering the relationship between themselves and their local society. The piece collects tweets from the selected Twitter topic to generate synthesized sounds in real time based on emotions description of musical chords. This turns the tweets into a chorus, which sings continuously. Viewers can listen to the choir at any moment or quit the show and begin the audio again. However, the sounds of the choir will never be the same. Additionally, any experimentation by viewers is very welcome, such as the selection of different topics to test the system-synthesized audio. Participating on actual social media is also encouraged; people can manipulate the algorithm of the software and see the results in real time.
information
sculpture video
sound playlist
finished piece
references and inspirations Barrett, Lisa Feldman. “This is How Your Brian Constructs Emotions.” Last modified March 7, 2017. https://www. popsci.com/how-human-mind-constructs-emotions#page-2. Chicago Light House. n.d. “Sandy’s View.” Accessed January 28, 2018. http://chicagolighthouse.org/sandys-view/ taking-pictures. Gwilt, Ilan. “Big Data- Small World: Materializing Digital Information for Discourse and Cognition.” In Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Creative Technologies, 2015. Harrison, Dew. Handbook of Research on Digital Media and Creative Technologies. Hershey: Information Science Reference, 2015 Lessman, Kevin. “Emotion of the Musical Keys.” Accessed December 15, 2017. http://www.gradfree.com/kevin/ some_theory_on_musical_keys.htm Mohammad, Saif. “NRC Word-Emotion Association Lexicon.” Accessed June 1, 2018. http://www.saifmohammad.com/ WebPages/NRC-Emotion-Lexicon.htm. Wikipedia contributors. “Bar (Music).” Last modified April 29, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bar_(mu sic)&oldid=838831854.
The software and sound prototype were developed into the finished work. Various methods of installation and presentation were experimented. Finally, a user interface was designed and program was tested for bugs and errors.
Many sound sources were experimented with the software, such as musical instruments, opensource audio tracks, and computer’s synthesization. An observation on how people respond to tweets on different topics and sounds was performed.
Human’s emotions and the effect of audio as an alternertive way for people with disabilities to use social media platforms were studied. Data of various sources were collected to create a lexicon of English vocabularies.
physical appearance design
software and sound prototype
conceptualization & research
social
l media
#adulting social media immersive instllation customized physical interface, processing, projection mapping, social media api
#ADULTING (Hashtag Adulting) is a site-specific interactive art installation that creates a virtual world in a real space for audiences to experience one of the most popular hashtags of the present time, #adulting. It projects both real-time and collected content from social media that is determined by the hashtag. The hashtag system, a phenomenon of social media invention, is not only used to categorize pictures, but nowadays reflects how people of the digital generation organize their content, express feelings, and interact with the public. This particular hashtag– adulting– which is another creation of social media, shows the concord of how people, especially generation Y (Millennials) and Z, see their adulthood, life philosophies, and how they actually live their lives. “Adult” as the noun we used to know has taken on a new form as a verb, with many meanings to cogitate from outmost shell to kernel. Since this subject is broad enough for interpretation, every social media platform has its users produce content related to it. We can see these interpretations through seriousness, crows, jokes, sarcasm, irrelevant content, and made-up posts about daily routines or ordinary life tasks, if any parts of those themes relate to a thing called “responsibility.”
information
video
finished piece
references and inspirations Renoe, Ethan. “It’s time to stop complaining about #Advulting.” Accessed August 10, 2017. https://relevantmagazine. com/life/you-need-stop-complaining-about-adulting. Tullo, Danielle. “Kindly Shut the Hell Up about “Adulting”.” Accessed August 10, 2017. https://www.cosmopolitan. com/lifestyle/news/a58946/stop-adulting/. Orenstein, Jayne, and Patrick Martin. “How to Adult.” Accessed September 27, 2017. https://www.washington post.com/video/entertainment/how-to-adult-how-to-get-your-first-credit-card/2017/12/05/b7269ae8-d931-11e7a241-0848315642d0_video.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.5c7f32b530e2
The prototype model was developed into an actual size sculpture with the finished physical user interface ready to be delivered to the art space.
installation preparation
Design process is started by experimenting on various graphic and interactivity with an objective to create immersive experience on social media world. An observation on people’s interactions and responses to different contents was performed to create a quality installation.
prototyping
Inspired by many online articles that comment about the hashtag adulting, the project is started by deep dived into the topic with different media and sources.
conceptualization & research
beauty
trends
iceleb: you.tube.me facial recognition game and Installation art customized software Still-images of oneself are going out of date. They are about to die out completely. We are now entering the era of moving-image; look at the popular Snapchat, Stories on Instagram, and the long-awaited arrival of the .gif animations on Facebook as examples. These are all part of the evolution of the selfie format. It is now time to practice how to present yourself to others in a super impressive way. iCeleb is now ready to help you prepare for this huge change in humanity, not with the help of just any average people, but with amazing social-media stars —YouTubers. 9 YouTubers are selected to create diverse options for iCeleb. These YouTubers are various races, genders, and not all English native speakers. They have over 4 million subscribers and produce their video online different from each other. iCeleb is presented as a big new hit application from a legendary company that has been inventing beauty technology for more than a decade named, Charming NN. There is a long back history of the company and how their technologies are developed. The installation art is set up as technology brand pop-up shop. A part of the software is a collaboration with YouJin Chung.
information
video
finished piece
Designing how to present the program and create wonderful experience for viewers while interacting with the program. This includes surronding matters, such as theme objects, a background story, floor plan, and vasethetic of objects and background music used in the installation,
installation design
Experimenting on various possibilities to create a well interaction for viewers while participating with the software. Creating a final software product and an user interface ready to be presented.
software development
Inspired by the Face Exercise Machine prototype and the Internet Celebrity reseach, to develop a new project using the similar technique about facial tracking software. Researching to create a selection of divearse famous YouTubers and collecting their facial moving data.
conceptualization & research
face exercise machine facial tracking game customized software and kiosk The Face Exercise Machine allows users to tone and sculpt their facial muscles by isolating individual features. Five levels guide players through challenging muscle workouts for eyebrows, eyes, nose, cheeks, and lips. After practicing with each facial feature individually, users embark on the ultimate workout, using all parts of their face. A score card at the end of the experience lets players know what their most standout feature is. The Face Exercise Machine is a developed prototype of a full marketing campaign for retrobranding exercises with blended steampunk aesthetics and critical design to investigate the ways society has trained people to deploy their faces as canvases in the search for self-and self-hood. The interface design is inspired by a 40’s technology style. The main user interface is a simple green color text and lines. There are four menus: Normal Mode, Level Selection Mode, Instruction, and Privacy Notice. The machine has a feature to record the user’s face like, any exercise machine that collects its user’s exercising ability but, this machine is a video record! This is why there is a privacy notice menu. However, with the respect of every single person’s privacy, this feature is not turned on by default. Therefore, anyone can feel safe to do their exercise. There will be no file recorded and stored in the machine without any notice or a permission.
information
advertise video
interaction video
finished piece
A physical appearance was designed to improve some software’s facial tracking limitation. The adjustable and movable chinrest is made to secure the position of the participant.
A program was created to operate on a computer. An user interface was designed to match with the theme of the project, while solving problems that might affect the performance of the program, such as lightings, participant’s face distance, and camera’s quality.
Human’s facial muscles and the possibilities to use them for digital interactivity are experimented. Part of the experiment also included a secret recording of the participants’ face, before revealed the video to them. This is to investigate on people’s emotions and reactions of privacy and art .
physical appearance design
software prototype
research & experimentation
bio Tuangkamol Thongborisute (Tuang, b. 1991, Bangkok) is an interactive artist and experiential designer, who works with various digital technologies and customized physical objects. She is interested in human behavior, emotion, and social relationships through technology interaction. Her works always have a playful quality that allow her audiences to explore surrounding matters, their inner self, and their relationships with others. She received her BFA from Silpakorn University, and an MFA from Design Media Arts (DMA), UCLA. Tuang began to take art lessons at the age of 4 along with music and computer classes. She has won numerous art competitions since she was 14 years old. In 2009, Silpakorn University then accepted her into the university under the Prominent Art Student Program. Tuang started teaching art to prospective art and design students at Art Tutor Academy, the renown art school, in early 2010. Her classes were human figurative drawing, art composition, and painting. While she was teaching conventional art, her interests turned to interactive art. Tuang began as a selftaught programmer, and started producing interactive art pieces and installations in late 2011. Later, she received the King Bhumibol’s Scholarship, and General Prem Tinsulanonda‘s Scholarship. She graduated from Silpakorn University with the first-class honor in 2014. After working as an artist and having various shows in Bangkok, Tuang pursued her MFA at UCLA in Design Media Arts Program where she also worked as a teaching assistant, and a researcher. She recently organized a joint residency program for new-media art students at two institutions: UCLA and Silpakorn, in August 2017 called, DMA-PSG Seminar and Workshop Program. Her interactive works delivers joyfulness, rhetorical questions, friendly sarcasm, self-interpretation, and group’s interactions. At UCLA, Tuang’s research involves the issue of the Internet, pop-culture, social media, the Internet’s celebrity, society’s perception of things, the intertwine of digitality and physicality, and human’s senses.
Education 2018 - M.F.A | University California, Los Angeles 2014 – B.F.A | Silpakorn University (First-Class Honors, Gold Medal) Scholarships and Fellowships 2018 – Clifton Webb Scholarship, Design | Media Arts, UCLA 2014 – General Prem Tinsulanonda‘s Scholarship 2013 – King Bhumibol’s Scholarship, Silpakorn University 2012 – Standford-Thai Exchange Program, CA, USA 2009 – Prominent Art Student Program, Silpakorn University, Thailand 2007,2008,2009 – Enchanting Institute’s Reputation Awards Selected Awards 2014 –The Finalist : Art Forward Fund Award (AFFA) by MOCA (Bangkok), Thailand 2013
– 1st prize, Read for Life : Mixed Media Art Contest by Art4D magazine and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre, Thailand
2008
– 1st prize, Save the Energy Day Painting Competition , Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Ministry of Energy, Thailand – 2nd prize, Young Designer Program, Department of Decorative and Applied Arts, Silpakorn University, Thailand – The Finalist : ROSL Young Artist of Thailand competition, Royal Overseas League, Thailand. (The artwork was exhibited in Thailand and UK.) – 1st prize, H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhon and Thai People’s Health Painting Competition , Ramathibodi Foundation, Thailand – Selected Artwork (painting) joined in the exhibition of 23th PTT contest.
2007
– 1st prize, paiting competition, Srivikorn Edutainment Day, Thailand – 1st prize, drawing competition, 50th Anniversary Surasakmontri School, Thailand
2006
– Complimentary Award, painting competition: The Gratefulness of Thai people to the King, the Central Juvenile and Family Court, Thailand
2005
– Selected artwork (painting) joined in the exhibition of 20th PTT contest.
Solo-Exhibitions 2017 – iCeleb : Series 1. You Tube Me. (Launch Event), Grad Gallery, The Broad Art Center, CA, USA 2015
– Living Room : ณ ขณะที่อยากบอก, Speedy Grandma, Bangkok, Thailand
Group-Exhibitions and Screening 2018 – Weak or No Signal, New Wright Gallery, USA – DMA Open Studios, The Broad Art Center, UCLA 2017
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UCLA Game Art Festival, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA, USA DMA-PSG Workshop and Seminar Program 2017: Interactive Art, BACC, Bangkok, Thailand Fall Preview Show, New Wright Gallery, CA,USA FAR Bazaar 2017: Alternative Art Fair & Art Collective Festival, Cerritos College, CA, USA
2016
– DMA Open Studios, The Broad Art Center, UCLA
2015
– Art Communication Network II — INTERACTION, Pumoe Art Space, Pattaya, Thailand
2014
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2013
– FaceStreet 2013-Art activity for the community , old-town area : Phraeng Nara, Phraeng Phuthon, and Phraeng Nakhon, Bangkok, Thailand
2012
– Stanford–Thai Exchange Program , Student Union, Stanford University, USA – Mixed Media Showcase , Sirindhon Visual Art Operation Building, Nakhon Phrathom, Thailand
2011
- Father’s Home– Mixed Media Exhibition for the community , Siam Commercial Bank Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand (curated by Mixed Media Department of Silpakorn University) – What Do You See? , Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Thailand (collaborative project between Mixed Media department : Silpakorn University, and Atelier Vilmouth from Beaux-arts : Paris)
All Equals One , Art Centre, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand Homemade Art Exhibition , Bakery Terrace restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand Art Forward Fund Award , MOCA (Bangkok), Thailand. LEAVE THE BUCKET AND CARRY ON , Bakery Terrace restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand
Curatorial Projects 2017 - DMA-PSG Workshop and Seminar Program 2017: Interactive Art, BACC, Bangkok, Thailand 2014
– Homemade , Bakery Terrace restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand – Poke(เหยแก) , Bakery Terrace restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand – LEAVE THE BUCKET AND CARRY ON , Bakery Terrace restaurant, Bangkok, Thailand
Bibliography - “Arts from the View of Youngsters.”,Khao Sod, September 18, 2014, p.24 - “AFFA, network of new generation of artists.” Krungthep Turakij, September 14, 2014, p. 4 - “Bright Kid.”Thairath, September 26, 2008, p. 4 – Komchadluek, March 31, 2008, p. 5 – Prikumsin, Piyada. ”Exhibition Reviews (LEAVE THE BUCKET AND CARRY ON).” Fine Art Magazine, Volume 12, no. 122, June-July 2015, p. 68 - “Number One Kid.” Thairath, November 2, 2008, p.13 – SriAnun, Narumol,and Chaiwit Sangsai. “Interactive Art.” Baankluay Magazine, vol. 34, March 2012, p. 58-59 - “ดาวคณะโชว์ห่วย.” ดาวคณะ , no. 06, June-July 2012, p. 57
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