Hertzian Playground 赫茲遊樂場

Interactive Interface Internet Performing Project Works ON 10/01/2021

Smartphone, Internet, webpage, WebAudio, instructions, 2020

Project Description

“We shape our technologies, then our technologies shape us, in ongoing cycles that produce our everyday physical and social environments.” — William J. Mitchell, Me++: The Cyborg Self and The Networked City

Hertzian Playground draws from the notion of “Hertzian space,” a term used to describe a holistic view of the electronic device and its cultural interactions, a residence where humans and electronic machines coexist. This project imagines everyday technologies embedded in our lives—such as smartphones, web browsers, and motion sensors—as musical interfaces driven by body dynamics. By transforming habitual gestures, such as shaking, tilting, and stillness, into performative controls, Hertzian Playground opens a resonant field where people and devices, sound and movement, participate in real-time feedback. Designed in response to the shift in social interaction during the post-pandemic era, the project explores how mobile devices can be re-situated as sites of co-presence, bodily awareness, and shared rhythm.

Rather than requiring an app or specialized setup, interaction happens entirely through a webpage. Participants connect their smartphones, follow visual instructions, and activate one of several gesture-based sound modes, using their bodies as instruments and the browser as a stage.

計畫介紹

「赫茲空間」是描述電子產品與其文化互動的整體視圖，是人類和電子機器共存的居所。在後疫情時代，我們能如何運用數位科技，在人與人、人與行動裝置間建立起更緊密的合作關係？本計畫將智慧型手機、網頁瀏覽器與動態感測等日常科技，想像為由身體驅動的聲音介面。透過搖晃、翻轉、靜止等日常動作的再定義，使行動裝置轉化為可參與即時聲音回饋的表演媒介。在後疫情時代人際互動模式轉變的背景下，《赫茲遊樂場》探索行動裝置如何重新成為一個感知身體、產生共時節奏與現場感的媒介。

參與者無需下載應用程式，只需開啟互動網頁、連接個人手機，依據操作指示進入四種不同的聲音互動模式，以身體為樂器，以瀏覽器為舞台，在熟悉的裝置中打開新的聆聽與演出關係。

Presentation & Events

Hertzian Playground was selected for the “NextTheater” open call at the National Theater & Concert Hall (NTCH) in Taiwan. It was exhibited in the Video Corridor of the National Concert Hall from September 26 to October 4, 2020, engaging audiences in a hybrid format—both on-site and remotely via personal smartphones. The project demonstrated how browser-based interaction could create shared sonic experiences across bodies, spaces, and screens.

呈現及活動

《赫茲遊樂場》為國家兩廳院「不只在劇場」徵件入選作品，於2020年9月26日至10月4日在國家音樂廳影音走廊展出，採實體與線上互動並行。觀眾透過行動裝置即時參與，體驗人與裝置在虛實之間的聲響共演。

Interaction Modes

Participants access the project by scanning a QR code or opening the demo page in a browser. Four interaction modes invite users to explore gesture-based sound control: