For my Event 2, I decided to go to Youjin Cheng's exhibition at UCLA's Fine Art Center. I was very confused when I first walked in because the "games" in the room are very interactive, and the room had completely different energies in different areas. The first game that really caught my attention was one that included three different lights and small pillars moving in different directions. I had no idea what to think until I heard Youjin later explain the meaning behind this game. The lights are meant to symbolize a group of people paying attention to the pillars, and how the attention by people on something causes a giant spotlight. The more people there are, the larger the "spotlight" is. I believe Youjin creates a very strong message here because it made me think about how even a meaningless object can increase its importance if there is a large spotlight on it.
Later on, I came across another game that caught my attention. I was curious about the controller so I pressed a button and the screen started to move. The game, according to Youjin, was created to allow people to step into the shoes of a robot. Youjin's meaning for the game was very interesting to me because she says it is uncomfortable for people to experience the actions and emotions of something that is not human. It brings up a foreign feeling of empathy for other beings that aren't human, which was a nice change of pace.
Youjin Cheng's solo exhibition was very interesting to me and I connected it to some of our robotics material because robotics are allowing us to view the world in new points of views, and each of Youjin's game did the exact same thing. I think the game with the three different lights was my favorite because it was the most thought invoking.
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