Interactive Smile Art

This project forms a crucial part of an experimental design study aimed at deciphering and reinterpreting smiles, humor, and laughter as distinct forms of energy. It seeks to transform these energies into unique art forms through the use of advanced technology. The study is structured around two primary experiments:

The first segment of the experiment delves into the nuances of humor as it resonates across different cultural landscapes. The focus here is to comprehend how humor is perceived and reciprocated in diverse cultural settings and to assess its subsequent impact. This understanding is further enhanced using AI-driven imagination, providing a novel lens to view the interplay of humor and culture.

The second part of the experiment adopts a more inclusive approach. It invites individuals from varied cultural backgrounds to engage in the process of art creation, driven by their distinctive smiles. This phase utilizes a sophisticated smile detection algorithm. The algorithm not only identifies smiles but also translates them into calibrated, unique art pieces, thereby celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of each participant's expression.

Through these experiments, the project aims to establish a symbiotic relationship between human emotional expressions and artistic creation, underscored by the power of technology and AI.

Experiment 1 : Humor Prompts

I started by working with people from various places, who speak different languages and have different cultures. I asked them to share the jokes or funny ideas they like most to help with the project. Here are some examples of the funny ideas they shared.

Close-up of a sleeping cat with a caption about trying to stay awake when going to the bathroom at 4 am.
A woman walking down stairs, with a caption at the top reading "I done watched this bout 5x" followed by laughing emojis.
A young boy with blond hair, wearing a black shirt with a graphic design, gray pants, and sneakers, standing on stage with a wooden floor, in front of a brown wooden backdrop, seemingly about to perform or dance.
A woman singing passionately with her eyes closed, with text that says "They Did Her Wrong!" and "The accuracy is 100%!" including laughing emojis.
A man with short brown hair and a beard sitting at a table in a dimly lit room, with cups and bowls in front of him, near a window with blinds.
A person holding a dog's tail, with the dog's face partially obscured by its hair, while another person smiles nearby outdoors with trees in the background.
A view of the ocean with waves breaking near a rocky shoreline.
A woman with dark hair holding a bone and sitting at a table with a yellow bowl in front of her, looking at a large light-colored dog that is sitting opposite her and gazing intently at the bone.
Black and white drawing of a person standing and holding a baseball bat, with a baseball next to them, and an exclamation point in a circle above them.
A person's leg with a tattoo of a cow with a smiley face, sitting down and holding a cup.
A woman with makeup and jewelry, wearing a white strapless dress, posing indoors with one hand on her head, and the text "feeling: smart" overlaid on the image.
A lush green park with colorful flowerbeds, trees, and a bright blue sky with scattered clouds.

Responses

The response chart was designed considering the contextual understanding the humor in cross-cultural settings and how the outcome of responses can be interpreted in a meaningful way.

I defined three parameters - Relatability of the humor, Intensity of humor, and Intensity of response. Individuals took part in the experiment by responding to the humor prompt collected, which involved the act of drawing leaves on the tree while adhering to specific predefined parameters.

A humorous survey tree requesting funny memes or jokes via email to keep the tree 'alive', with a humor scale from dark brown to green and response intensity from 0 to 20 circles.
A white wall with a poster of a leafless tree, response scale, and instructions. A tablet on a tripod displays an image, and a small wooden table with colored markers is on the floor.
A man with curly hair and a striped sweater drawing on a large poster of a tree on a wall, with a tablet on a tripod nearby.
A young man in glasses, a gray sweater, and black pants standing in front of a display screen mounted on a small tripod, in an indoor setting with wooden floors and a white wall with posters and a door in the background.
A woman with glasses and long curly hair, wearing a black turtleneck, black pants, and white shoes with hearts, is looking at a tablet on a stand. She is in a room with a white wall, a poster of a tree, and a small round table with markers. The backg
A woman in a black coat standing in front of a display screen on a tripod, with a large poster of a tree on a white wall behind her, all in an indoor space.
A young man with headphones, a baseball cap, green sweater, brown pants, and boots standing in an art gallery, looking at a touchscreen display on a tripod near a wall with a poster of a tree diagram and small colored markers.
A woman with dark curly hair, wearing a white t-shirt and beige pants, drawing or writing on a large poster on the wall. She is standing on the floor with a tripod nearby and has a headset on.
A woman wearing headphones and glasses, standing on a wooden floor, looks at her phone while using a tablet mounted on a tripod, in front of a wall with a large informational poster and small notes in an indoor recreational area, with a ping pong tab
A woman with curly hair wearing headphones and a white t-shirt, standing with crossed arms, looking at a large poster on a white wall. The poster features a drawing of a tree with various colored markers and text, asking people to send funny memes or
A person sitting in a chair, wearing headphones and glasses, looking at a tablet on a tripod in a room with white walls. There are various posters and notes on the walls, including a large colorful poster of a tree with different symbols and a humor

Responses recorded over the period of one week

Three side-by-side diagrams of a tree with leaves replaced by colored circles. Each diagram shows a different stage of response intensity from 0 to 20 circles. The top text indicates a one-week duration for the activity. The left diagram is mostly uncolored, the middle has some red and yellow circles, and the right is densely filled with various colored circles. The diagrams are labeled with terms like 'Highly relatable,' 'Least relatable,' and 'Humor scale,' with a color key for response intensity from black to green.

Documented responses on tree chart morphed into real tree imagination using generative AI

A colorful diagram of a tree illustrating different levels of biodiversity, with labels for 'Least Biodiverse,' 'Highly Biodiverse,' and 'Very Biodiverse' on the branches. There is a small circular color-coded legend at the bottom right corner.

Final high resolution interpretation triggered from the collected responses.

Experiment 2: Smile Art

The second experiment is centered around a participatory design, which aims to organically encourage individuals and society to smile. This approach is founded on the belief that every smile is inherently beautiful and unique. In this experiment, participants are invited to share their smiles with a camera. These smiles are then transformed into unique floral artworks that are displayed on a projector screen.

A man stands in front of a presentation setup in a warehouse or industrial space with a large screen displaying a digital presentation, a laptop on a white table, and a poster on an easel.
A computer monitor displays red fireworks against a dark sky, with a laptop in front showing a photo of two people, and a bright light illuminating the workspace.
A man with a backpack in a dark exhibition space, leaning over a table with a laptop displaying a presentation and a brightly lit sign on display.

In the video, the participant creates art using a smile.

Three people standing indoors, two men and one woman, smiling and not smiling respectively. The man in the center is not smiling, wearing a checkered shirt. The woman on the right is smiling, wearing glasses and a furry jacket. The other person on th
Young woman smiling and looking upward in an indoor space, with the word 'Smiling' and a green box around her face.
Person smiling in an indoor industrial space, with a visible sign in the background and other silhouetted individuals.
Three people standing indoors, smiling at the camera, with a man in the middle wearing a hoodie that says 'INTREPID', and a face recognition box on the man on the right labeled 'Smiling'.
A young man standing indoors with a smile, wearing a dark jacket. Two smaller blue boxes labeled 'Not Smiling' are on the left side of the image, and one green box labeled 'Smiling' is around the man's face.
A woman with short brown hair, smiling in an industrial setting, wearing a white t-shirt and a maroon leather jacket.
A woman smiling in an industrial or warehouse setting.
A woman smiling indoors, with a dark background and industrial ceiling, wearing glasses, a black top, a beige cardigan, and a necklace.
A young person with short brown hair smiling, wearing a dark jacket, in a large industrial space with exposed pipes and beams, and a group of people in the background.
Two people smiling and looking at the camera in an indoor setting. The person on the left is a man with a beard and mustache, wearing a plaid jacket. The person on the right is a woman with glasses, wearing an orange puffer jacket and earrings.
A young man with brown hair and earrings smiling and winking, wearing a brown shirt and dark blazer, standing inside an industrial or warehouse setting with exposed pipes and beams.
Two women in an industrial setting display contrasting facial expressions; one smiling with an open mouth and the other not smiling, with the larger woman in the foreground and the smaller woman in the background.
Woman with curly hair smiling while holding a phone, in an industrial setting.
A woman smiling, wearing glasses, indoors with visible support beams and pipes in the background.
Three people smiling, two women and one man, in an indoor industrial setting. The woman on the right is holding a camera, the man in the center and the woman on the right are both smiling.

Intent

The key aspect of this artistic representation is that it captures and reflects the beauty and uniqueness of each individual's smile. This visual depiction on the screen not only celebrates the diversity of smiles but also serves as an interactive element, inspiring more people to join in and contribute their own smiles to the collective art. The underlying idea is akin to the concept of a contagious smile, symbolizing how positivity and joy can spread throughout society, thereby enhancing the overall happiness and quality of life within the community. This experiment not only highlights the aesthetic value of smiles but also their power in fostering a more connected and joyful society.

Digital neon green and blue abstract geometric pattern resembling a circular, three-dimensional ripple or flower on a black background.
Digital abstract art featuring a glowing blue and orange geometric design resembling a floral or labyrinth pattern on a black background.
Colorful fractal pattern resembling a flower with multiple layers of intricate swirling shapes, transitioning from blue at the center to yellow and red at the outer edges, on a black background.
A vibrant, symmetrical digital mandala pattern with blue and green neon outlines on a black background.
A vibrant, abstract digital artwork resembling a glowing blue snowflake with intricate, organic shapes on a black background.
A colorful, circular, maze-like pattern with a dark background, featuring intricate concentric designs in red, green, and blue.
Close-up of a brightly colored, intricate coral or sea anemone with pink, orange, and purple hues against a black background.
Digital abstract pattern resembling a spiral galaxy with blue and green glowing circular shapes on a black background.
A vibrant, circular digital artwork featuring intricate, maze-like patterns in neon blue, green, and cyan colors on a black background.

Tools used in the project.

Adobe Illustrator

Dall E

Python

Cables. Gl

Nocodb

Runway