ThoughtBalloons
A permanent public commission for the City and County of Denver
Central Park Recreation Center
Denver, Colorado
Conceived, designed and executed by Wes Heiss and Marek Walczak
Graphics: Johanna Kindvall
Software and programming: Peter Kennard
Completed in 2011
Sitting inside the entrance lobby of the Central Park Recreation Center in a Denver Neighborhood, ThoughtBalloons is an interactive artwork that playfully inserts software generated text-based dialog over seated people’s heads.
About 17’ wide by 2’ deep by 8’ high, it’s rectangular enclosure is made of a welded steel frame skinned with plywood and black glass. Functioning as a bench with a sort of proscenium like frame, the piece offers an ideal place to rest for a moment or wait for a friend.
Someone who has never been to this community center before might just sit on the bench and think nothing of it. Anyone walking by however, will see thought balloons appearing over the seated person’s head, seemingly able to read their mind. The seated person becomes an unknowing participant in the piece. When someone else sits on the bench the thoughts change to dialog bubbles and develop into a sustained conversation on a particular topic.
Community workshops generated dialog that might seem nonsensical to an outsider while being deeply relevant to a resident. Inside jokes, local information and community history... In this way the piece is tied to the place in which it resides.
As a means to keep the piece perpetually fresh and unpredictable the content will continue to grow and evolve over time. Thoughts can be contributed by the community/public through www.thoughtballoons.org
The position of people’s heads is determined through custom software and the use of a motion sensing infrared camera apparatus mounted over head and facing the piece to gain a complete view. This allows the balloons to follow peoples heads as they move about the bench. The sensor is connected to a computer concealed inside the enclosure which also drives 4 flat panel displays.
Motion tracking technology positions ‘thoughts’ over the heads of often unaware visitors.
Former Denver Mayors John Hickenlooper and Bill Vidal along with then current Mayor Michael Hancock.
In order to be specific and relevant to the users of the recreation center texts were collected from the community through a series of workshops.
After collecting a large amount of material, the conversations were grouped into topics. These groupings allow the software to create sustained topical conversations.
Welding the steel frame
Mounting the frame to the building
Skinning with plywood
Glass panels were glued over the plywood skin.
Proposal rendering