wk6 10.28/10.30: Emergence, Self-Organization, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality | Methodology Guidelines

[glegrady]

wk6 10.28/10.30: Emergence, Self-Organization, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality | Methodology Guidelines

Give a brief response to any of the material covered in this week's presentations

[gevher]

I have worked with therapeutic VR before, where we had guided meditation with music in various nature environments embedded in our cognitive behavioural therapy app. In terms of interactivity, it was mostly just your default VR headset/mobile view, where you could view the environment in 360. However, nothing the user did really changed anything in the visuals.

When we looked at Osmose in class, I was intrigued by the concept of controlling the stimuli with your breath. I wonder if the constant state of floating and the lack of solid object spaces could help more with relaxation than the route that we followed. This particular method would have its limitations as well, since one needs to breathe all the time, and breathing triggers floating around no matter how slow. People might want to stay still and observe the environment, since ours did not have any spatial ambiguity or superimposed translucent worlds.

All the comparisons aside, I really liked how painterly Osmose felt while I was watching it. The full-body gear also works well with the concept of it being an art installation aimed at full immersion (this would not be feasible or accessible for a daily-use app). The buoyancy control via chest movements and the sense of constant, contemplative freefall are all great ideas for bringing different spaces into our current environment to induce a meditative state.



Also, one of the things that stood out to me most was that it wasn’t a solitary experience. Other museum-goers could see the shadow of the participant projected live on a wall as they experienced the piece – without headsets but with polarised glasses and spatial audio through headphones. This layer of shared presence adds a beautiful sense of connectedness to the artwork, which I appreciate.

[ericmrennie]

I’ve always been captivated by how architecture intersects emerging media and digital fabrication. Together, they offer new ways to make our surroundings dynamic and expressive. For as long as civilization has existed, we’ve created landmarks that define us, like the Great Pyramids, the Colosseum, cathedrals, and the Empire State Building. Today, modern technology gives us the tools to continue that legacy in new forms. Why limit ourselves to four walls and a roof when we can shape experiences through design?

One artist whose work embodies this intersection of art, architecture, and technology is Erwin Hauer. Erwin Hauer was an Austrian-born sculptor who created modular sculptures with infinite continuous surfaces. Some of his structures were used within architecture as room dividers or light-diffusing walls (Hauer, “Erwin Hauer – Spinneybeck”). His work consists of elements of infinity, continuity, and periodic repetition and encompasses material science, 3D design, computer-aided manufacturing, and advanced fabrication technologies (Hauer).

An example of Erwin Hauer's light-diffusing walls

Another artist who utilizes advanced fabrication techniques is Nicolas Baier, a Canadian visual artist. Starting in the 2000s, Baier began creating works that integrate art and architecture (“Baier, Nicolas”). Very notably is his “Mappemonde” piece, which consists of 208 pieces of marble carved by machine and assembled to make a 15.6 by 8.2 meter mural that resembles roots or intertwining roads (Baier, “Portfolio > Mappemonde”). The marble is etched and placed in such a way that it looks like it was excavated, not assembled.

"Mappemonde" by Nicolas Baier

Integrating art and architecture in a different sense is Stanza, an artist based in London who created “The Nemesis Machine.” Fusing together electronic components, such as sensors, cameras, robotics, and computers, Stanza builds city-like structures that demonstrate the control technology has on humanity and how complicit and entangled civilization has become in a panopticon through modern technology (Stanza).

"The Nemesis Machine" by Stanza

Works Cited

“Baier, Nicolas.” Blouin Division – Artists. Blouin Division, https://www.blouin-division.com/en/arti ... aier#about. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Baier, Nicolas. “Portfolio > Mappemonde.” Nicolas Baier, https://nicolasbaier.com/portfolio/mappemonde/. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Hauer, Erwin. “About.” Erwin Hauer, https://www.erwinhauer.com/about. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Hauer, Erwin. “Erwin Hauer – Spinneybeck.” Spinneybeck, https://www.spinneybeck.com/designers/view/erwin-hauer. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

Stanza. “About / Dr Stanza.” Stanza, https://www.stanza.co.uk/about/index.html. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.

[jintongyang]

The concept of self-organization fascinates me deeply; it can be one of the most profound inspirations for art and design. The world itself is a vast system, and every creature within it is a smaller world as well. As human beings, we tend to control and intervene in our technological systems, while natural systems possess their own internal drives that shape their patterns of existence. These patterns are already a form of art—organized as if by divine logic. Many say the world is made of mathematics, and indeed, there are always ways to visualize this hidden order: the geometry of crystals, the texture of sand, the movement of fish schools, even the structures of human society. Each unit might be small and unconscious, yet self-organizing systems gather them into larger formations that mirror the laws of the universe. Trees, for instance, display fractal structures, which can even be simulated on machines through mathematical formulas and applied on human technologies. I can’t help but wonder: how do individual entities spontaneously gather into certain patterns, and what does that mean for our sense of self-identity?

In nature, self-organization produces organic patterns without conscious intent. Nicolas Baier’s Mappemonde (2022) (Fig.1) beautifully embodies this idea: a marble sculpture that merges tree-like networks, rhizomatic connections, and reticular structures. The work captures how human-made machines can carve the traces of self-organizing systems into stone—a material that preserves time itself. It evokes a profound metaphor for life, time, and the intersection between human order and natural emergence.

Fig.1. Nicolas Baier, Mappemonde, 2022

In human society, however, agency is often placed above all else. As individuals awaken to their unique value, we must ask: can we still be “self-organized” within complex systems of labor, technology, and information? Can we embrace our latent, self-motivated patterns (our hidden drives) to live in a more autonomous yet connected way?

Weidi Zhang’s A Walled City (2025) (Fig.2) reflects on these questions through a self-organizing virtual city where individuals perform their roles within an evolving collective structure. It prompts us to think about perspective: what changes when we stand outside a system versus when we are immersed within it? Virtual reality could provide a powerful space to explore this contrast. For instance, Ian Cheng’s VR trilogy Emissaries (2017) (Fig.3)presents an evolving ecosystem driven by AI simulation, allowing viewers to experience emergence and adaptation firsthand, which can be an excellent example of self-organization in an immersive medium.

Fig.2. Weidi Zhang, A Walled City, 2025


Fig.3. Ian Cheng, Emissaries, 2017

Ultimately, the study of self-organization reminds me that creation is never isolated. Each pattern we form, each system we build, participates in a larger rhythm of emergence. In art, as in life, perhaps the goal is not to control the system, but to learn how to move with it, to let the patterns unfold and find ourselves within their flow.