by Philip Kohn, Thomas Edwards, Brian Judy and Claudia Vess.
www.y2cents.com email: contact@y2cents.com

Be part of the art.
An animated talking head will ask you questions about current issues, for example; “Do you think smoking should be banned from the streets too?” The interviewer not only records your answer, but after you give permission, plays it back—of course, with a little twist. Recorded interviews can be seen on the kiosk screen. Whatever your answers, the effects are amusing. See smoke coming out of your ears as your answer about smoking is played back. Some of the questions are serious, some call for your acting ability, and some ask for your predictions about the future. The project is amusing and a harbinger of art to come.

Your 2 Cents builds on work the artists exhibited at Artomatic 2004 where they met. Philip Kohn, an imaging research scientist at NIH developed facial tracking software used in the playback that enables the computer to add effects to your image. The computer was built by Thomas Edwards a robotic artist, engineer and founder of DC Dorkbot. The interviewer is animated by computer game and fine artist Brian Judy. Development and content is contributed by conceptual/installation artist Claudia Vess.

The computer was built specifically for this project which is funded is part by a New Media grant from the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts DC Commission for the Arts.