Walking in Patterns is a collaborative interdisciplinary project among Penn State faculty Jonas Rubenson (Biomechanics), Joseph Cusumano (Engineering Science and Mechanics) and myself.
In Walking in Patterns, two participants attempt to optimize their walking on treadmills by watching their silhouetted movement projected on the gallery wall. They duck to avoid their silhouette colliding with a virtual waving ceiling generated by the other participant’s height fluctuation while at the same time weaving colored lines and triggering sonic patterns. This project, inspired by basic game theory, explores the tension between collaboration and cooperation, yet yields awareness of various ways to control walk patterns by enabling a natural gait, or by creating a constrained condition such as crouching.
