Designed to Move

Last week I ran my first marathon so it was maybe no surprise that my thoughts were focused around movement. But it was more than the 42 kilometers of Parisian paving that got me thinking.

I began to consider how the role of movement has changed whilst conducting field research in India during the weeks leading up to the race. It was difficult to find any track to train on and the very idea of going jogging suddenly seemed strange, not just due to the climate, but because we were surrounded by a context of real life in which the necessity of movement and the demand of physical energy is displayed vividly.

On arrival, I noticed myself standing patiently at a sink realizing I would need to turn the tap for the water to flow. Having hotel doors opened leaves you with someone to thank and a feeling of laziness, compared to when ‘they’ open for you. In stark contrast to the automated, escalating world of our airports, the streets are packed with action and people live in a very dynamic way. Water is pumped, loads are carried and buildings are built – literally - by hand.

In many ways, the return to a more automated way of life seemed a little numbing, and it took some time to become accustomed to a certain lack of sensation, a lack of physicality and ultimately a lack of effort. As the race approached I was often posed the question of why I had really entered and hadn’t quite found an honest answer. In Paris I observed the whole thing, at times, a little detached from my body. I was amongst a herd of people flooding the city’s streets - could it be that we were all looking to push ourselves into a feeling of physical engagement, of effort, that is natural for us to seek, and from which we have become detached in our automated daily lives?

The journey to Paris itself was a marathon train-ride, broken up with a visit to ZKM (Centre for Art and Media) in Karlsruhe, Germany. Its exhibition, Imagining Media, details many of Europe’s most explorative interactive installations. More aware than usual of movement and automation, I came across If/Then Installed - a projection piece inviting us to physically imitate and virtually control a dancer, performing whole body gestures recognized from a choreographic system.

Though not the most complex of the centre’s vast collection, If/Then Installed required noticeably more effort in its interaction. It was one of the most fun and also most memorable, bringing about discussion around motor memory and the tendency for movement to improve our ability to learn. Intelligent control systems are often tied to the notion of a lack of effort and a lack of motion. The sensation of movement has all but been removed from driving and air travel, whilst the success of gestural control in gaming shows an appeal of physical engagement exists.

By the end of my marathon weekend I was excited about the opportunity to inject more physical engagement into our automated worlds, as we are designed to move.