Leading light
By Gena Tuffery,
The Light Tracer in action. Idealog March/April 2007, page 19
A Kiwi inventor is wowing Tokyo kids—and winning awards
Moving from Tauranga to Tokyo could literally cramp your style—unless you’re a digital artist like Karl Willis, in which case you’re likely to have so many doors open you could start to suffer from agoraphobia.
In Japan, digital artists are given the kudos New Zealanders usually reserve for sportspeople. In fact, Willis’ Light Tracer recently featured on what he describes as “a televised digital art Olympics”—complete with a medal ceremony at the end.
Light Tracer is an interactive drawing system where you can use any light-emitting device, from a lamp to a mobile phone, to leave your mark onscreen. You can also illuminate your face or hands and trace out their likeness. “My goal with Light Tracer is to create something which enables others to create,” Willis explains.
“If interactive art can provide experiences which break down barriers and provoke interaction, creativity or discourse between people, then to me this represents a far more positive direction than preaching a single message.”
The Tokyo Type Directors Club clearly agree—they recently awarded Light Tracer the interactive design prize at their annual awards.
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