Interactive computer-based art installations in times of rapid technological advances

摘要

This thesis describes the reimplementation of the interactive art installation entitled "15 seconds of fame''. The motivation for the installation was the famous American artist Andy Warhol. He modified simple photograph portraits into pop-art pieces. The production of such portraits is the goal of the installation "15 seconds of fame''. The installation looks like a picture on a wall, but it is in fact a computer monitor framed as a picture. On the top of the frame there is a small camera which is connected to a computer hidden behind the scene. Every fifteen seconds, the camera takes a picture of the scene in front of it and sends it to the computer, where all the magic happens. It searches for human faces in the picture, picks one face randomly and applies a combination of image filters which converts the face into a pop-art portrait. The idea is still great, even ten years later, but the original technology is outdated and increasingly difficult to maintain. We reimplemented the installation with new hardware and software and we discuss the problems of maintaining new media art installations in general.