Hachiya Kazuhiko Overview

"Have you ever imagined what it's like to have wings?" For Hachiya Kazuhiko, this is an ordinary question. Hachiya's Interactive art strives to create a tangible experience -- even if it entails magically sprouting wings and soaring into the virtual unknown.... [more]

"Have you ever imagined what it's like to have wings?" For Hachiya Kazuhiko, this is an ordinary question. Hachiya's Interactive art strives to create a tangible experience -- even if it entails magically sprouting wings and soaring into the virtual unknown. Hachiya feels strongly that imagination begins with tactile and visual stimuli. In his artistic vision, "Nothing begins until it is touched, nothing is delivered until it is experienced." An example of how Hachiya (who also goes by Kazuhiko Hachiya) frees our imaginations can be found in his "Inter DisCommunication Machine" (1993). Two players wear head-mounted video cameras and backpack transmitters with wings. Incredibly, out of this clunky gear springs a delightful, futuristic play world. The most fantastic element of this interactive paradise is its visual trickery. Each player views his or her own image retransmitted through the other player's headgear. When was the last time we stood, moved, and played across from ourselves? Clearly Hachiya's machine plays with our psychological walls. He has "borrowed the players' perceptions" in order to create a world of self-discovery. Hachiya's art also injects imagination and play into everyday technology. His "PostPet" project, for instance, brings personality to that banal and faceless piece of modern communication known as e-mail. The "Pet" is a small creature that lives on the computer desktop and acts as a personal delivery service. It conducts all e-mail transactions just like a real-life Fido -- including fetching the mail, delivering it, and interacting with its "owner." Once again, whimsy and accessibility are the hallmarks of Hachiya's work. As a pioneer of Interactive art, Hachiya continues to stake his claim on the realm of the fanciful. Once in his world, our old standards and perceptions become mere illusions that we can manipulate and enjoy as we will. [show less]