Meta-picture and Chindōgu: Design Explorations to Inspire the Visual Experience

Abstract

This experimental artwork is divided into a physical installation part and a virtual part. The physical installation is a camera recording the way people use the Tap-Hat, while the virtual part is an invitation for more viewers to participate. The image of the work is created by nesting and superimposing the tap and the hat, and is expressed in the form of a chindōgu, paying homage to the classic meta-picture Duck-Rabbit (Fliegende Blätter 1892). The self-referentiality of the picture is an integral part of Duck-Rabbit, and in 2024 we found this perspective still compelling.In addition to exploring the relationship between the image and the physical object, we believe that this work is also relevant to human society. As Kenji Kawakami, the inventor of the Chindōgu described in his 101 unuseless Japanese Inventions, "Digital products are indeed very advanced, but they also alienate people while facilitate people’s daily life, and deprive them of the freedom. And freedom is the most important thing in life."We wish to explore a form of art where "creation" and "experience" work together in freedom. In the invitation to experience, we expect people to temporarily leave entrenched cognition and purpose behind, and to discuss values and meanings that go beyond monetary figures.

Keywords: Augmented reality, interaction design, user experience, meta-pictures, Chindōgu

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005609